Shari Redstone Joins Israeli Film Company Amidst Growing Hollywood Boycott
LOS ANGELES, CA – Former Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone has taken a position with an Israeli film and television company, sources confirmed, as a burgeoning boycott movement gains traction within Hollywood over the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The move comes just months after the $8 billion merger between Skydance and Paramount closed in August, ending the Redstone family’s decades-long controlling stake in the media conglomerate.
Redstone’s involvement with the Israeli company-details of which remain undisclosed-occurs against a backdrop of increasing pressure on the entertainment industry to take a stance on the conflict. A growing number of film workers have pledged to boycott projects with ties to Israel, with hundreds of signatories including prominent actors like Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, and Ava DuVernay. The pledge, organized by film Workers for Palestine, calls for an end to all work on productions that support or are funded by entities connected to the Israeli government.
The Redstone family’s history with Paramount stretches back generations. Her father, the late billionaire Sumner Redstone, acquired Paramount Pictures in 1994, and her grandfather, Michael Redstone, founded theater operator National Amusements, which was absorbed into Paramount during the recent Skydance merger. Shari Redstone served as Paramount’s chairwoman since 2019, navigating a period of significant industry disruption and ultimately overseeing the deal that ended her family’s control.
During the merger process, Paramount faced political headwinds, including a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump alleging CBS News deceptively edited an interview with his election opponent, Vice President kamala Harris. The lawsuit was later settled. Redstone previously told the new York Times that she believed Trump’s scrutiny of CBS News could possibly lead to more balanced reporting, stating, “Part of me thought, maybe Trump could accomplish what I never got done.”
The boycott movement has prompted responses from industry organizations, including the Israeli Producers Association, and has sparked debate about the role of artists and corporations in political conflicts. Paramount itself recently criticized a celebrity-endorsed call for an Israeli film boycott, according to the New York Times.