Ted Cruz questions Netflix and Warner Bros. execs in Senate: 'Are we right now on stolen land'

US senators have grilled Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos at a hearing over how his company's proposed $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery will affect competition across the entertainment industry.

However, Senator Ted Cruz dominated Tuesday’s proceedings when he asked Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery executive Bruce Campbell, "Are we right now on stolen land?"

"I I have no idea the history of this land of this where we're sitting today," replied Sarandos.

"Nor do I, Senator," Campbell added.

The Texas senator contended that these remarks imply certain entertainers consider America is "fundamentally illegitimate".

"So, that speaks volumes that neither of you are willing to say, 'Hell no, we're not on stolen land.' And I will say, at the Grammys, when you see an entertainer say, 'Nobody is illegal while we're on stolen land.' And then you see entertainers leap to their feet clapping so excitedly at the notion that America's fundamentally illegitimate," Cruz replied.

Cruz was referencing singer Billie Eilish's recent Grammy speech, in which she criticised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and declared that "no one is illegal on stolen land."

The Senator added: "It starts to convey that the entertainment world is deeply pro-corrupt. And I will point out that same singer who says no one is illegal on stolen land promptly went back to her $14 million mansion and somehow that stolen land she wasn't concerned about just the United States of America." 

Cruz later posted about it on social media, saying their answers were "worrisome."

The Senate exchange has gone viral as an example of congressional culture-war questioning during what was supposed to be a business or antitrust hearing.

Interestingly, Eilish's comments at the Grammys received support from the Tongva tribe. However, the Native American tribe whose ancestral territory includes Eilish's Los Angeles home, emphasised the importance of a direct and specific acknowledgment of their land.

The group stated the Grammy winner's property is on what they deem their "ancestral land."

"Eilish has not contacted our tribe directly regarding her property, we do value the instance when public figures provide visibility to the true history of this country," a Tongva representative told the Daily Mail.

"It is our hope that in future discussions, the tribe can explicitly be referenced to ensure the public understands that the greater Los Angeles Basin remains Gabrieleno Tongva territory," the tribe representative said.

"Nobody is illegal on stolen land" is a political and activist slogan most commonly used in the US and sometimes in Canada, Australia, and elsewhere in discussions about immigration, borders, and Indigenous rights.

Analysts say it refers to the historical fact that the US and other settler-colonial countries were built on land that originally belonged to Native peoples.

Colonisation, broken treaties, and forced removals dispossessed original inhabitants of their land without consent.

The slogan that Eilish mentioned and Cruz referenced argues that no one should be labelled "illegal" for existing on land that was violently taken from its original inhabitants in the first place.

DoJ reviewing transaction

Earlier, US Senator Mike Lee led the hearing in which Sarandos and Campbell, testified.

While the Senate cannot itself prohibit the deal, the lawmakers demanded details on how the transaction would affect consumers, workers and competitors.

Lee, a Republican from Utah who leads the antitrust subcommittee, said the deal could decrease competition among streaming platforms and provide writers, actors and other entertainment workers fewer jobs.

It could also put Netflix in a position to divert movies away from theaters and lessen rivals' access to Warner Bros' blockbuster content, he said.

"Netflix seeks to become the one platform to rule them all," Lee said.

The US Department of Justice is reviewing the transaction, along with a competing, hostile bid from Paramount Skydance .

Netflix and Paramount Skydance covet Warner Bros for its leading film and television studios, extensive content library and franchises such as "Game of Thrones," "Harry Potter" and DC Comics' superheroes Batman and Superman.

Paramount has argued it will have an easier regulatory path to approval.

But Warner Bros has repeatedly rejected offers from Paramount, which would wind up deep in debt to finance the transaction.

Lawmakers from both major US political parties have voiced concerns that the deal will reduce competition in the streaming market.

Netflix has pointed to statistics by media analysis firm Nielsen that say Google's YouTube accounts for more viewing time on US televisions than other streaming services, but experts say the DOJ is likely to analyse how the deal affects competition in a more specific market, such as streaming platforms that charge a monthly subscription.