By Joe Flint
Paramount President Jeff Shell will leave the company Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. He is also expected to resign from the company's board of directors, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Shell's resignation comes after an investigation into whether he disclosed confidential company information to a man who claimed to have consulted for the veteran media executive.
Shell was accused of leaking material nonpublic information about Paramount's business dealings by R.J. Cipriani, a self-professed fixer and whistleblower who said did work amounting to crisis communications services for Shell.
Cipriani alleged in a breach of oral contract and fraud lawsuit filed in March in California Superior Court that he consulted for Shell from August 2024 through February 2026. During that time, the suit alleged, Shell disclosed advance notice of Paramount's deal to acquire UFC media rights worth $7.7 billion, among other things.
Cipriani said Shell reneged on a purported promise to make "Star Serenade," an English-language version of a Spanish-language music reality series Cipriani and his wife created that airs on the Roku Channel.
Paramount retained outside legal counsel to investigate Cipriani's allegations.
Cipriani subsequently filed a similar lawsuit against Paramount and its board of directors.
Shell's departure from Paramount was expected regardless of the Cipriani squabble, people familiar with the matter said. He was instrumental in the build-up to Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros, Discovery, most of the company's key unit leaders reported to chief executive David Ellison.
Shell's departure from Paramount marks the second time he has left a high-profile position under pressure in recent years. In April 2023, Shell resigned as chief executive of Comcast's NBCUniversal after an investigation into a sexual harassment complaint. Shell said at the time that he had an "inappropriate relationship" with a colleague.
Cipriani said he had a role in publicizing the circumstances of Shell's departure from NBCUniversal, saying in his complaint that it was consistent with his "longstanding practice of exposing misconduct in the entertainment and media industries."
Shell and Cipriani were introduced to each other by high-powered Hollywood attorney Patricia Glaser, who has worked with both men. In his suit, Cipriani said Glaser asked him to stop spreading negative gossip about Shell. After meeting Shell, Cipriani said he developed sympathy for the executive and "agreed to assist him -- voluntarily and without compensation."
Shell, who previously held senior positions at Disney and Fox, joined Paramount after David Ellison's Skydance Media took control of the company last year. Before that he oversaw the sports and media portfolio of RedBird Capital Partners, the private equity firm that has an ownership stake in Paramount.
Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 08, 2026 11:23 ET (15:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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