Mark Ruffalo responded to accusations that he is antisemitic in a lengthy X post on Saturday, decrying the conclusion as “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”
“The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people,” the Marvel actor wrote. “This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.”
Ruffalo came under fire Friday after going scorched earth against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger in an Instagram post, denouncing the deal in part over the Ellison family’s ties to what he called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
A Paramount spokesperson was swift to respond in a statement exclusively to TheWrap, calling the actor’s remarks “antisemitic” and “a bridge too far.”
“We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong — they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe,” the statement read. “This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”
Read Ruffalo’s Saturday response in full below:
The controversy began early Friday after Ruffalo shared on Instagram a video of Safra Catz, executive vice chair of Larry Ellison’s Oracle, flexing that the company’s “profoundly scary technologies” advanced the Israeli agenda against Palestinians following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks nearly three years ago.
“This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David’s Warner Bros. acquisition,” the actor wrote. “These ‘really profoundly scary technologies’ will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you. Look how she revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”
On Saturday, Ruffalo emphasized that having a dialogue around the Ellisons’ merger, Oracle and the aid given to Israel in its military conflict against Hamas is being is not anti-Jewish.
“To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect,” he wrote. “Everything I know about acting, activism and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life.”
He continued: “This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle’s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary. The $111 billion deal would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros., backed in part by foreign money whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully explained to the public.
“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven’t given the public a real answer. Until they do, the merger shouldn’t move forward. Now is the time to dive boldly into all these issues, not step back or concede.”
Ruffalo has long been a vocal advocate to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, and he continued his crusade against the deal in the same Instagram post Friday, emphasizing that it would erase Hollywood jobs. TheWrap exclusively reported earlier this week that the merger could result in the loss of nearly 4,500 film and TV jobs in Los Angeles County over the next three years when the two companies combine their operations. Ruffalo personally shared our reporting Thursday on X.
The actor has also notably thrown his support behind initiatives to end Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza and raise awareness and advocacy within Hollywood, vocally condemning the ongoing military conflict and endorsing a number of open letters denouncing the industry’s silence in the face of it.
The actor’s comments against the merger Saturday came just after Paramount and California Attorney General Rob Bonta set a Monday meeting to discuss settling the multi-state antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.
