Is there a path back?
That still stands as an unanswered question in the wake of the #MeToo tsunami that swept Hollywood starting with the downfall of Harvey Weinstein in 2017. And it presented with specific, thorny facts — accompanied by a cloud of nebulous rumors — as Skydance moves closer to sealing a deal with Paramount that would install former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell as president of the combined entity.
Shell never has been accused of being a predator who assaulted or coerced women, but as any industry watcher knows, he was fired last August for an inappropriate relationship with Hadley Gamble, an international CNBC correspondent based in Abu Dhabi. Some NBCU executives and industry observers were shocked that Shell, who often sang the praises of his wife, would put himself in such a compromising position. But as The Hollywood Reporter revealed at the time, others — mostly women — were not. One former colleague said then that Shell “had crushes and said inappropriate things” to women at the company. Another called Shell “overly friendly” with certain women at the company, saying, “I wouldn’t call him creepy but definitely cringey.” Shell declined to comment for this story.
Gamble’s was the only name revealed in the scandal. She had made a complaint, reportedly after learning that her contract was not going to be renewed. Her attorney, Suzanne McKie, confirmed that claims of sexual harassment and sex discrimination had been filed but declined further comment.
As Shell moves closer toward assuming a high-level position, rumors of other women whom he may have approached have started to emerge. So far, no one has stepped forward with an accusation, but knowledgeable NBCU sources say there were other alleged instances of inappropriate behavior, though they “did not rise to the level” of the Gamble affair. One woman whose name has been floated in this context acknowledges that Shell was “flirty” but doesn’t think his behavior was of a nature that he deserves to remain stuck on the bench.
An NBCU executive — male — understands why questions are bubbling up. “The guy is not a predator,” he says. “I think he didn’t think through the things he said and did. [And] if this guy is now going to have the second-highest role at a major studio, people have a right to question it.”
Sexual harassment has been illegal for many years. A boss who engages inappropriately with an employee is playing with fire. Not only is there a potential outcome such as the one that happened in the Gamble case, but another staffer who isn’t involved with the boss can sue on the grounds that sexual favoritism has created a “hostile work environment.”
Shell has a history that could raise questions about how well he was able to compartmentalize his own behavior. In March 2018, he suspended and then sacked film studio marketing chief Josh Goldstine, citing allegations that he created an “unacceptable climate.” Finding himself unemployable, Goldstine initiated legal action. Nearly two years later, he won an arbitration award said to be in the ballpark of $20 million. Even after the arbitration victory, Goldstine had to go to court for a declaratory judgment clearing him of wrongdoing before Warner Bros. would hire him for his current job as president of worldwide marketing.
In August 2020, Shell fired NBCU vice chairman Ron Meyer. The veteran executive had engaged in a brief affair with aspiring actress Charlotte Kirk. When she and a boyfriend threatened to sue Meyer and NBCU, Meyer gave them money in an effort to hush the matter up. In a July 2022 podcast interview, Meyer stressed that “it wasn’t a #MeToo situation.” The affair had been consensual, and in his case, the woman involved was not an employee. An NBCU source notes that Meyer was fired not for the entanglement with Kirk but for failing to notify the company of the legal threat. Still, there was a certain irony in the situation. (Kirk also was involved in the downfall of Warner Bros. chairman Kevin Tsujihara.)
The particular circumstances at Skydance Media also create a potentially uncomfortable context for the Shell hire. In January 2019, CEO David Ellison hired former Pixar and Disney Animation chief John Lasseter as head of Skydance Animation. Lasseter had been ousted at Pixar in November 2017 following reports of inappropriate conduct toward women, including rubbing their legs and kissing them on the lips. Lasseter and Disney tried to play the problem off as a matter of unwanted hugs, but no public company was willing to bring him into the fold. As Skydance is not a public company, Ellison apparently felt he had more latitude.
In a meeting with the Skydance animation team after the hire was announced, Ellison asked the staff to give Lasseter a chance to show that he could behave professionally. Meanwhile, Mirielle Soria, then Paramount’s head of animation, assured her staff that they would not be working with Lasseter. There have been no allegations of misconduct since Lasseter joined Skydance, and sources say if the Paramount deal goes through, Lasseter will remain as head of a Skydance unit that has a deal at Netflix but would not oversee Paramount’s animation unit.
Once again, Ellison is determined to stand by his man. There’s still a ways to go before the Paramount-Skydance deal happens: Paramount has until Aug. 21 to evaluate offers from other bidders, and a lengthy regulatory review will follow. There are those in the industry who say Shell has been punished enough, having been publicly fired for cause and having lost out on stock grants and options worth $43.3 million. They note that he owned up to the entanglement with Gamble and apologized for an “inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company,” adding that he was “truly sorry” for letting colleagues down.
The former NBCU executive who described Shell’s behavior as “flirty” thinks Ellison will be on safe ground as Shell will now be “very buttoned-up.” But another former NBCU exec thinks it’s too soon to put Shell in a position of authority again. “Whether it’s consensual or not, people in power who do things like this have got to have consequences,” she says. “I’ve watched people get away with it my entire career.”