NEWSJudd Apatow Warns Political Satire 'Is Gone' Under Trump-Aligned Skydance Boss David Ellison’s Hollywood Merger
Legendary director Judd Apatow, who has worked with Adam Sandler, had harsh words for Skydance boss David Ellison.
Oct. 20 2026, Published 5:19 p.m. ET
Judd Apatow knows his way around Hollywood — which is why he cautioned viewers that the merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers under David Ellison’s Skydance production company will lead to a stifling of speech and creativity.
“The idea of doing satire is, for the most part, gone,” he told a podcast interviewer recently. “Most of that has gone completely out the window.”
'Late Show,' '60 Minutes' Ratings Among the Casualties
David Ellison canceled the popular 'Late Show With Stephen Colbert.'
Apatow warned that the merger represents a dangerous time for political speech, especially in an area where the White House is continually calling for the firing of comedians who offend the president. Ellison is a public supporter of Donald Trump, and Apatow reminded his audience that he was responsible for canceling the successful Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
This came not long after Colbert called Paramount’s $16 million settlement with the administration “a big fat bribe” to smooth out the merger in 2025.
Ellison was also responsible for putting conservative Trump-aligned journalist Bari Weiss in charge of CBS News and 60 Minutes, which has been plagued with cratering ratings and internal problems.
'It's Not in Anyone's Imagination'
Protesters leaped on the connection between David Ellison and Donald Trump.
“We saw what happened to Stephen Colbert and what people were trying to do to Jimmy Kimmel,” Apatow said. “So all of that concern is very real. It's not in anyone's imagination.”
He added that entertainment leaders go to a lot of effort to make sure the president’s feelings don’t get hurt.
“We have a president who basically wants everyone to stop making jokes about him, because jokes have the truth in them, and jokes reveal what the lies are or what the corruption is,” Apatow pointed out. “And it does require executives and people in business to say, freedom of speech is important and human rights are important, and treating people well is important, and feeding people is important.”
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'I've Lived Through All the Mergers'
Judd Apatow said that mergers slow down creativity.
Beyond even politics, he added that mega-mergers tend to stifle creativity and prevent creators from taking interesting risks.
“I've lived through all of the mergers,” he recalled. “That kind of consolidation, it does lead to less risk taking. There are a few people who are allowed to do things like Chris Nolan and, you know, few filmmakers that have carte blanche to really just do whatever they want. Less buyers increases the chances that something's not going to get done.”
He made a point to say that this isn’t just about wealthy Hollywood actors getting shut out, as massive mergers have a disproportionate hit on the working class as well.
'An Enormous Amount of People Lose Their Jobs'
Judd Apatow warned that not just big stars are affected by these mergers.
“The first thing that happens is an enormous amount of people lose their jobs,” the comedian revealed. “And in Hollywood, we're not really in a situation where we can handle that. We need the whole city to be doing well to support not just the show business jobs, but the catering jobs and all the things that support the movies in every possible way.”
He directed his last thoughts on the topic to the executives who make the decisions about what happens in Hollywood.
“It's really the executives that are in the position,” he stated. “You get to decide what the approach to telling the news is at CNN. I don't get to decide. So, you know, we'll see what happens. I think what we all want is just the truth. Especially journalism that's aggressive and trying to put people's feet to the fire and make sure our country is not corrupt and that our country is good to people.”
