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December 5, 2025 — a date which will live in film infamy — Warner Bros. Discovery announced they had accepted an $82.7 billion bid (roughly $28 a share) from Netflix to acquire their assets. (Paramount Skydance almost immediately put in a hostile cash bid of $30 a share, we’ll see what happens.) This was the latest in a near-decade’s worth of mega entertainment company mergers that serve no one but the CEOs at the top. These huge mergers have proven to result in fewer films being made (including those specifically earmarked for theatrical release), meaning fewer jobs in the industry overall. And in this era of open flirting with fascism, the mergers pose a huge threat to free and independent speech, given that deals depend on regulatory approval from a current administration that is easily bought. Jane Fonda has been railing against these mergers, as have movie theater owners. Well, Jane just upped her protest game by teaming with The Groundlings to spoof Nicole Kidman’s epic AMC commercial, opening with the line, “We come to this place for mergers.”
Heartbreak does not feel good in a place like this.
In the wake of the startling news of Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (and Paramount’s hostile counter bid), Jane Fonda took to satire to convey her antitrust concerns. Spoofing Nicole Kidman’s zeitgeisty AMC Theatres ad, the activist and actress warned of corporate greed and worsening cinematic offerings.
“We come to this place for mergers, “Fonda began mirroring Kidman’s words and entry into a theater. “We stream to self-silence, to censor, to slop. Where content is chosen by the best billionaires we have.”
Instead of relishing in “dazzling images on a huge silver screen,” the Grace and Frankie star faked awe at “dazzling focus-grouped, pre-digested content that lets your brain not do too much thinky-thinky.”
“Somehow corporate greed feels good in a place like this,” she continued, watching movies play out on her phone instead of the big screen. “Somehow mergers feel good in a place like this.”
In the parody, which was produced with famed SNL feeder The Groundlings, Fonda is then interrupted by an interloper who tells her: “Ma’am, excuse me, ma’am. What are you doing? You gotta go. We’re about to knock this whole place down in five minutes to make a data center, so let’s go. Come on.”
Voicing her criticisms in the caption, the two-time Oscar winner added, “Regardless of which company ends up acquiring Warner Warner Bros. Discovery or its parts, the resulting impact is clear: Consolidation at this scale would be catastrophic for an industry built on free expression, for the creative workers who power it, and for consumers who depend on a free, independent media ecosystem to understand the world. It will mean fewer jobs, fewer creative risks, fewer news sources and far less diversity in the stories Americans get to hear. Consolidation is even scarier in the Trump era because the administration is comfortable using its merger review power to extract political concessions that put our Freedom of Speech at risk.”
Last week, Fonda expressed similar sentiments via her newly revived committee for the First Amendment, noting the group — originally launched by her father to combat McCarthyism — is “ready to mobilize” against the deal.
Jane Fonda, continuing to stand up for what’s right and giving nepo babies a good name in the process! I mean really, what a way to usher in her birthday (it’s next Sunday, she’ll be 88 and she can’t believe it either). Every inch of this parody is perfect, from lines like “Somehow corporate greed feels good in a place like this” and the instantly meme-able “lets your brain not do too much thinky thinky.” Then the way Jane sits down in a movie theater… to watch something on her phone. Plus, the deer-in-the-headlights look on her face when the guy tells her to leave at the end is just priceless. Nicole Kidman has said that she dreams of doing a live performance of the ad with a drag queen; I think a spoof from Jane Fonda comes as a very close second! (Of course the next incarnation ought to be Nicole, Jane, and drag queens… let’s make that happen, universe.) Jane really meant business when she relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment two months ago, and this video in particular was a really clever way to bring attention to the issue and entertain at the same time. Somehow, political protest feels good in a place like this.
Jane, Nicole, drag queens, all seen from the point of view of Nicole’s rain coat that disappears without explanation after she walks into the theater.
Go, Jane!
Unfortunately, I can no longer take Jane Fonda seriously. Coulrophobia is a real drag…
This is really good at all