Topline
A profile of Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav that appeared on GQ Magazine’s website this week labeling him Hollywood’s “Public Enemy Number One” was abruptly taken down following a complaint from Warner Bros., in an apparent damage control attempt as Zaslav’s reputation takes repeated blows amid the Hollywood writers’ strike.
The GQ profile, written by film critic freelancer Jason Bailey, came in the wake of Hollywood … [+]
Key Facts
Freelance film critic Jason Bailey published a GQ piece Monday titled “How Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Became Public Enemy Number One in Hollywood.”
Archived versions show the article was promptly edited after publication Monday to tone down Bailey’s scathing portrayal of Zaslav, which included comparing him to Succession’s ruthless CEO character Logan Roy and highlighting his troubles as CEO of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. contacted GQ to ask for “inaccuracies” to be corrected and, according to Nathaniel Brown at Warner Bros., “the freelance reporter made no attempt to reach out to Warner Bros Discovery to fact-check the substance of the piece before publishing.”
Bailey wrote that Zaslav was booed at his alma mater Boston University while giving the 2023 commencement address, calling him “one of the oft-invoked villains” of the striking Writers’ Guild of America and claiming Zaslav is laser-focused on “making him and his stockholders a quick buck,” rather than quality content creation.
According to the Washington Post, the GQ editorial team could not accommodate Bailey’s request for his byline to be removed from the newly-edited piece, and later removed the article without warning that same day.
Big Number
Only months after Zaslav oversaw a merger to combine Warner Bros. and Discovery as one company, the new entity reported a $2.1 billion net loss in the final quarter of 2022.
Key Background
Zaslav rose to prominence for spearheading the $43 billion deal that merged WarnerMedia—previously a subsidiary of AT&T—with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022. Zaslav has come under fire for the company’s rocky transition to television streaming, significant cost cuts and new appointments, such as naming Chris Licht as the head of CNN, while the company’s stock has slumped. In recent months, Zaslav was blasted when HBO Max relaunched as “Max,” while he referred to writers and directors simply as “creators” and hosted a lavish, star-studded party in May in Cannes, France, as his writers were on the picket line and striking, claiming they are underpaid.
Surprising Fact
Advance Publications—the parent company of Condé Nast, which owns GQ Magazine— controls 8.1% of the voting and common stock of publicly traded Warner Bros. Discovery, and two executives from Advance serve on the Warner Bros. board of directors.
Further Reading
Boston University President Blasts ‘Abusive’ Students For Shouting Down Warner Bros. Head Zaslav (Forbes)
‘Purple Rain,’ ‘Batman’ Among Film-Music Rights Being Shopped for Sale (Forbes)