A legal fight is taking shape between Paramount and the high-stakes gambler who sparked an internal investigation and SEC inquiry into whether company president Jeff Shell prematurely disclosed details of a $7.7 billion UFC media rights deal.
At the heart of the matter: An allegation that the studio and Shell reneged on an agreement to pick up an English-language format of a Roku reality show the gambler, R.J. Cipriani, co-created and exec produced. A lawsuit hasn’t been filed, though Paramount is lawyering up.
Blair Connelly, a longtime, do-it-all outside advisor to David Ellison, has stepped in after Cipriani presented the company with a lawsuit advancing breach of oral contract and fraudulent misrepresentation claims, among others, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim was previously a partner at Connelly’s firm, Latham & Watkins.
The litigation threat has imperiled Shell’s return to the C-suite following his termination from his prior role as NBCUniversal CEO in 2023 due to allegations of sexual misconduct with a CNBC correspondent. Ellison brought him over from an interim perch at the studio’s financing partner RedBird Capital.
Shell is now represented by Steve Olson of O’Melveny, while Cipriani is represented by Steven Aaronoff. A draft complaint has been circulated.
Shell’s recent troubles began when Cipriani alleged that the Paramount boss improperly disclosed specific details about the studio’s UFC deal before its August 2025 announcement. An outside law firm is now investigating the claim, and the SEC is reviewing a related whistleblower complaint.
The situation has already had repercussions. Shell wasn’t involved in final negotiations between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount and was absent from the conference call announcing the $111 billion deal, which included fellow executives like Paramount chief strategy officer Andy Gordon.
Cipriani made the tip-off about the purported confidential information breach following soured discussions with Shell over the reality show project. The pair shared an attorney, the prominent Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who had been attempting to resolve the matter.
Shell has been a key face of the new regime at Paramount since the acquisition from Shari Redstone in 2025. He, Cipriani and the studio declined to comment.
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