Hasan Piker Blames Gavin Newsom and California AG for Paramount-Warner Merger

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker blamed two of California's top Democrats, Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, for clearing the way for Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. He said Newsom "facilitated" the deal and Bonta "caved."

The merger puts CNN, CBS, HBO and the Warner Bros. studio under David Ellison in a combined company that now operates as Skydance. It went ahead after Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general settled their antitrust lawsuit on September 21. That suit was the last legal obstacle left after federal regulators declined to block the deal. Donald Trump's Justice Department had approved the merger in June without a challenge. Newsom denies that he pushed Bonta to settle.

"Gavin Newsom facilitated this merger," Piker said on his HasanAbi show. "The attorney general of California and numerous other blue states were suing to stop this mega merger from taking place. Gavin Newsom intervened and got quote unquote assurances, which were nothing, obviously."

Hasan Piker Says Democrats Gave Up the Last Check on the Merger

Piker called the state case "the most important legal battleground" and said that once California dropped it, the other states followed. "And Rob Bonta caved," he said, adding that "there is no democratic process here if the state cannot enforce its own laws."

The criticism comes from the left at a Democratic governor who sits second in PolitiKool's polling average of the 2028 Democratic primary field, at 16.3 percent, behind former Vice President Kamala Harris. Piker has broken with Democrats before, including over the age of the party's incumbents.

He also accused the company of misleading Californians about jobs. On air, Piker read a headline saying that Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, now co-CEO of the merged company, had sent employees a memo acknowledging that layoffs would be part of the process. An August report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors projected about 4,500 lost film and TV jobs in the county over three years.

How the Paramount-Warner Bros. Legal Fight Ended

The deal, valued at about $110 billion, took this path:

• June: The Justice Department approved the merger without any challenge.
• July 13: A coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it, arguing the merger violates antitrust law. A trial was set for March 2027.
• Before the settlement: Newsom, the Los Angeles mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra backed a negotiated settlement, while Paramount threatened to move operations out of California.
• September 21: The states settled, and a federal judge later approved the agreement.

Under the settlement, Paramount must release 30 films a year in the first two years and 32 a year in years three through five. It must pay $30 million for each film it falls short, and it could be forced to sell Miramax. The company also committed an additional $1.5 billion to domestic production and a $47.5 million fund for displaced workers. An independent monitor will oversee compliance, according to Bonta's office.

Piker dismissed those terms. "No one's going to hold them accountable," he said. "The institutions that are supposed to hold them accountable cave."

What Gavin Newsom Has Said in Response

Newsom rejected the idea that he leaned on Bonta. Piker played the governor's answer to Axios reporter Alex Thompson on his show.

"I didn't pressure anybody," Newsom said. "I made it very publicly and consistently... that we, me, many folks, including the mayor, soon-to-be governor-elect, Becerra, and others, preferred, in the words of Rob Bonta himself, that he focused on getting this done at the boardroom, not the courtroom."

Newsom said that once Bonta made the "boardroom" point on CNBC, "we amplified that." Bonta has also rejected the idea that he backed the deal. "This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger," he said.

Piker was not persuaded. "Yeah, he worked hard to deliver for California," he said. He also read from Ellison's statement on the settlement, which he said thanked "Governor Gavin Newsom for his support throughout the process by name."

What Happens Next

The settlement's film quotas run for five years under an independent monitor, with a $30 million penalty for each missed film, so the states keep some leverage over the combined company. Whether that leverage protects the Los Angeles film and TV jobs the county report says are at risk, and keeps CNN and CBS News independent, will be tested in the years ahead.