Jane Fonda warns Warner Bros. Discovery sale ‘threatens’ First Amendment

Actress and activist Jane Fonda wrote in an op-ed in The Ankler on Thursday that Warner Bros. He warned that Discovery’s possible sale “threatens” the First Amendment; especially considering how the Trump administration has “used anticipated mergers as a tool for political pressure and censorship” in the past.

Fonda’s column – previously published Netflix confirmed The company, which bought Warner Bros. on Friday, said it was not known at the time which company would buy the legendary movie house, but maintained that “we do not need to know the end result to understand the danger.”

“This threat of consolidation, in any form, is an alarming escalation of the consolidation crisis that threatens the entire entertainment industry, the public it serves, and potentially the First Amendment itself,” he wrote.

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Fonda continued: “No matter which company acquires Warner Bros. Discovery or parts of it, the resulting impact is clear: A merger of this scale would be disastrous for an industry built on free expression, the creative workers who power it, and the consumers who depend on a free, independent media ecosystem to understand the world. It would mean fewer jobs, fewer opportunities to sell work, less creative risk, fewer news outlets, and far less diversity in the stories Americans will hear.”

As Netflix announced Friday, the streaming giant has acquired not only the studio side of the company but also HBO and HBO Max. Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable news division, which includes CNN, TNT and Discovery, will be spun off into its own publicly traded company, Discovery Global.

Continuing her criticism, Fonda said that Warner Bros. By purchasing Discovery, the company claimed it would “gain the power to quickly mobilize every guild—SAG-AFTRA, WGA, PGA, DGA, IATSE, everyone—making it harder for workers to bargain, to sustain themselves, and to get by.”

The actor warned that no matter how dangerous the “economic fallout” is, it’s not what scares him most about the sale.

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“What frightens me, and should frighten anyone who cares about a free society, is how this administration is using anticipated mergers as a tool of political repression and censorship,” he wrote. “We’ve already seen this in action. During the Skydance-Paramount merger proceedings, the FCC Chairman launched an investigation into 60 Minutes for routinely editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, a move his predecessor said was fundamentally at odds with the ‘First Amendment.’

President Donald Trump speaks with Senate and House Republicans during breakfast in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

The actress claimed that even conservative leaders had warned that the Trump administration was “operating outside legal and ethical boundaries,” arguing that “the First Amendment is non-partisan and neither is standing to defend it.”

Closing her thoughts, Fonda called for an organized effort to oppose Trump, warning that “if we don’t speak out now, we may have no industry and no democracy left to defend.”

American actress Jane Fonda at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. (Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

“This is not a partisan fight. This is a fight for our creativity, our livelihoods, and our most basic rights as Americans. I choose to stand up. I hope you’ll join me.”

Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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