‘Death threats’ over ‘South Park,’ 24 hour security and ‘extortion’ plot — explosive lawsuit exposes Hollywood’s underbelly

Like a twist out of an old Hollywood noir movie, the president of Paramount filed a bombshell lawsuit the day after the Oscars — alleging that he’s being shaken down by “an inveterate gambler” who “overplayed his hand.”

Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell has countersued Las Vegas and Hollywood fixer RJ Cipriani — claiming in court docs that Cipriani overstated his association with Shell as a crisis PR whiz to bleed money from the mogul.

Jeff and Moira Shell at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton on January 10, 2023. Variety via Getty Images

The president of Paramount filed a bombshell lawsuit the day after the Oscars. Getty Images

Cipriani is already suing Shell for $150M — but Shell now says in court docs that the Cipriani “playbook” somehow coincided with death threats over a “South Park” negotiation, mysterious calls in the night and an old rival rearing his head, too, as part of the “shakedown.”

According to the lawsuit filed Monday afternoon in LA Superior Court, Cipriani used “a trusted mutual connection” via Hollywood power lawyer Patricia Glaser “to cozy up to a high-profile target” — i.e., Shell — and then “leech to the fringes of the target’s world while manufacturing the illusion of closeness; falsely claim you have been helping the target from behind the scenes; then strike — demand compensation for your unsolicited efforts and, if not paid, weaponize that fiction, and the added threat of public exposure of equally false and salacious lies, to extract a massive payday.”

RJ Cipriani and Elon Musk in front of a Tesla. Instagram/ robinhoodvegas

Cipriani is already suing Shell for $150M — but Shell now says in court docs that the Cipriani “playbook” somehow coincided with death threats over a “South Park” negotiation.

But as with everything surrounding this legal drama, it’s the subplots that are most jaw-dropping. And there are several contained in Shell’s 181-page complaint. For one, Shell allegedly faced death threats amid contentious negotiations over “South Park,” not a typical byproduct of even the fiercest dealmaking.

According to his own lawsuit, “Shell had been receiving death threats as a result of the dispute and needed a 24/7 security detail” and thus asked Cipriani for “guidance.” (Parmount declined comment on the alleged death threats that preceded its $1.5 billion deal for streaming rights to the animated series.)

Matt Stone (left) and Trey Parker (right) are the co-creators of the popular animated series “South Park.” Getty Images

Cipriani’s lawsuit previously included text exchanges that appear to show Shell pleased with a story in The Hollywood Reporter covering the negotiations, writing “I love you!!!! The hunter Biden thing is awesome. Thank you.” That story depicts attorney Kevin Morris, the longtime dealmaker for “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, in an unflattering light, dubbing him “a nationally known figure for his years-long legal and financial support for Hunter Biden.” (Attorney Bryan Freedman, who represented the “South Park” creators while they mulled litigation, did not respond to a request for comment.)

Monday’s suit also chronicles a series of curious phone calls Shell allegedly received from former NBCUniversal honcho Ron Meyer.

Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell has countersued Las Vegas and Hollywood fixer RJ Cipriani — claiming in court docs that Cipriani overstated his association with Shell. Getty Images

RJ Cipriani standing in front of a busy Las Vegas street. Instagram/ robinhoodvegas

The two men have a bitter backstory given that Shell ousted Meyer in 2022 for having an undisclosed sexual relationship with actress Charlotte Kirk. Adding to the tangled loyalties, Cipriani and Meyer are close friends, and Page Six Hollywood previously reported that Glaser enlisted Cipriani to broker a détente between Shell and Meyer. (Glaser didn’t respond to a request for comment.) The alleged Meyer phone calls came at a time when talks between Cipriani and Shell were falling apart.

“Meyer told Shell that he might be able to convince Cipriani to reduce the amount of his demand. Shell was not interested. The next day, … Meyer called Shell again and informed him that Cipriani had been looking for at least $10 million, but that Meyer might be able to get him to accept $5 million to withdraw his threats,” the lawsuit says. “Shell told Meyer he would not pay Cipriani a cent. On one of these calls, Meyer warned Shell that Cipriani was a ‘bad guy’ who could ‘make lots of trouble’ for Shell if Shell did not pay. Meyer tried to contact Shell on at least three more occasions. He left two voicemails, and Meyer’s assistant also texted Shell, urging Shell to call Meyer. Shell did not return his calls.” (Meyer did not respond to a request for comment.)

The lawsuit continues: “On or about March 5, 2026, Shell received an anonymous call. Calling from a private unknown number, the caller, apparently an older male, told Shell, ‘You should really call Ronny [Meyer] back, he can help you out with this.’ Shell asked ‘Who is this?’ The caller then hung up without identifying himself.”

Shell’s attorney, Steven Olson at O’Melveny, declined comment.

“We find the Cross-Complaint just filed by Jeff Shell to be utterly outrageous, and based upon a number of very serious, blatant — and, we feel, intentional — misconceptions of the law and of the actual facts,” Cipriani’s attorney Steven Aaronoff tells Page Six Hollywood. “Mr. Cipriani will vigorously contest the Cross-Complaint, to the fullest possible extent of the law. The truth will set Jeff Shell free.”

The sordid legal drama, which has ensnared everyone from Ari Emanuel to Glaser, began with details of Cipriani’s draft complaint leaking to Puck and Deadline on Feb. 23, followed by extensive coverage by the Hollywood press after Cipriani filed suit earlier this month. (Shell allegedly blames Cipriani for the original leaks to Puck and Deadline, according to sources.) 

According to Monday’s complaint, Cipriani’s alleged scheme came at a vulnerable time for Shell, one year after he was fired from his top perch at NBCUniversal for sexually harassing a CNBC anchor and given a second chance by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. “Cipriani banked that Shell, who had been the subject of negative publicity while at a prior employer, would be willing to pay a significant sum to avoid federal scrutiny and another media storm,” the complaint claims.

Still, there’s the matter of the lawsuit’s damaging alleged text exchanges between Shell and Cipriani that appear to show the executive discussing sensitive non-public matters with the pro gambler. And that is exactly what a third-party law firm hired by Paramount Skydance has been tasked to investigate. Any findings in that investigation, which is close to the finish line, are being kept under wraps. But Shell’s lawsuit offers an explanation for why those messages look bad but are allegedly innocent.

“Notably, Cipriani had turned on ‘disappearing messages’ in his WhatsApp chat with Shell but, at the same time, was apparently screenshotting and cataloguing certain messages with Shell to create a carefully-curated collection that, without context, might suggest a connection to Shell or more of a relationship between Cipriani and Shell,” the cross-complaint alleges. “Conveniently ignored, of course, were the overwhelming majority of times Shell did not respond or gave a mere cursory, dismissive reply.”

Shell also claims that Cipriani altered the date of some of the alleged WhatsApp messages to predate public announcements. (Aaronoff strongly denies that.)

Shell’s lawsuit paints Cipriani as a charlatan who works the press masterfully to maximize damage, using the coverage in Puck and Deadline to jumpstart a feeding frenzy against Shell. The lawsuit includes mentions to a story I wrote on Feb. 25.

“Cipriani communicated with the ‘Page 6’ journalist pre-publication to hype up the article, telling her to ‘Get your [popcorn emoji] ready,’” the cross-complaint states. But that is a mischaracterization of what Cipriani was responding to, as was detailed in my story. I only communicated once with Cipriani on Feb. 24 and asked him just one question: “Wait, I thought Patty Glaser was your lawyer,” I asked. Cipriani shot back one quick retort: “You should call and ask her about that. Get your [popcorn emoji] ready.”