Mark Ruffalo voiced his disappointment after a judge approved the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger settlement Wednesday, calling it a “bad deal for this country.”
“This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs — it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved,” the actor, who has been an outspoken critic against the $110 billion deal, wrote on X Wednesday evening. “This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of us who stood up to block it, but it’s also not the end.”
He continued: “This grassroots movement isn’t going to fade away and neither is our resolve. This was never about just one merger: this was about fighting back against corrupt oligarch billionaires trampling the interests of everyday people to line their own pockets. We’re still in that fight. Join us.”
A representative for Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Paramount told TheWrap, “Didn’t read it.”
As we mentioned, Ruffalo has repeatedly spoken out against the merger these past several months. In fact, earlier in September, the Marvel star called on California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the other state AGs to not settle the antitrust suit amid reported talks with Paramount.
“Don’t you dare @AGRobBonta, do not cave,” he wrote at the time. “5670 film makers put their necks on the line for you to fight this merger. Another 75,000+ and counting have signed to tell you not to concede in just 3 weeks. You work for the people — the very people who will be hurt if you let this lousy deal filled with empty promises go forward. Please sign to send a message to the AG’s and Paramount. Reject the deal. The people don’t want it!”
Ruffalo also faced controversy last month after he called out the business relationship between Larry Ellison’s tech giant Oracle, which is backstopping more than $40 billion of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, and Israel’s ongoing military activity in Gaza amid his objections to the deal. The comments proved to be divisive in Hollywood, prompting Paramount to blast Ruffalo as “antisemitic” for the remarks and sparking warring industry petitions that separately criticized and supported the actor.
While Ruffalo remained displeased with the outcome of Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín’s decision, which cleared the final hurdle for Paramount’s $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, AG Bonta and Paramount’s legal chief Makan Delrahim touted the settlement as a win for both sides.
