Paramount Pictures X Account Hacked with ‘Fascist Regime’ Message

(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Paramount Pictures’ official X account was hacked on Tuesday, briefly rebranded as a “proud arm of a fascist regime” message as it attempts a hostile takeover of Warner Bros Discovery.

For several minutes, the pointed message was emblazoned on the account’s bio. It quickly vanished – restored to “The official X account for Paramount Pictures” – but not before screenshots ricocheted across the internet.

The hack landed just a day after owner David Ellison launched a hostile, all-cash bid for WBD at $30 per share, topping Netflix’s $27.75 mix of cash and stock, in a move that rattled Hollywood, where labour unions and streaming rivals warn that consolidation on this scale risks deepening political influence over the entertainment sector.

Those anxieties have only sharpened with Ellison’s proximity to President Donald Trump, a longtime friend of his father whose administration would rule on any merger.

Trump, speaking Sunday, warned that a colossal Netflix–WBD deal “could be a problem,” adding that “we’ll see what happens.”

“They’re big supporters of mine,” Trump declared aboard Air Force One in October. Weeks before the Skydance-Paramount merger closed on August 7, he publicly boosted the younger Ellison, saying, “He’ll do a great job” atop the combined company.

In October, Ellison struck a deal reportedly worth $150 million to acquire Bari Weiss’ outlet The Free Press and install her as CBS News’ top editorial executive.

Yet the Ellisons’ proximity to Trump has hardly ensured goodwill. The president erupted on Monday over a CBS 60 Minutes profile of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), savaging the Ellisons’ stewardship of the network and writing: “THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP.”

Pressed at a White House briefing about Paramount’s rival bid for WBD, Trump kept his distance.

“I don’t know enough about it,” he said, stressing he would need to weigh the market implications for Netflix and Paramount Skydance. “I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine. You know, I want to do what’s right.”

Rival executives, however, appear to be courting the White House just as aggressively. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos made a secret trip earlier this year, while billionaire Larry Ellison has reportedly discussed CNN talent decisions with Trump officials.