Mark Ruffalo has hit back after becoming embroiled in an extraordinary public clash with Paramount Skydance, with the company accusing him of turning to ‘antisemitic tropes’.
The outspoken actor, 58, is locked in the row after attacking CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, over the media giant’s proposed $110billion (£80.7bn) takeover of Warner Bros Discovery; he has linked their business interests to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Poor Things star Ruffalo criticised Paramount chief Ellison and his dad in an Instagram post on Friday as opposition to the Warner Bros Discovery acquisition continues in Hollywood.
Paramount then responded on Saturday by accusing Ruffalo of invoking ‘antisemitic tropes’ and saying that applying terms including ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ to a corporate transaction was ‘a bridge too far’.
Ruffalo, who starred in this summer’s blockbuster hit Spider-Man: Brand New Day, had shared an older video featuring Oracle chief executive and Paramount board member Safra Catz discussing technology supplied to Israel after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.
The actor also described Larry Ellison as a ‘classic oligarch’ and warned his followers about the potential consequences of combining Paramount with Warner Bros Discovery, accusing him of using Oracle to fund his son’s acquisition.
Referring to Catz’s comments in the video, Ruffalo wrote: ‘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.’
He also accused both Ellisons of ‘powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world’ and urged his followers to oppose the merger, which he argued would be ‘catastrophic’ for the entertainment industry due to job losses and reduced competition.
But Paramount rejected the actor’s characterisation of the proposed takeover and criticised his language.
A Paramount spokesperson said: ‘(The company is) 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.
‘This doesn’t deserve a response in kind – and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.’
The company added: ‘We’d rather build than further engage in such rhetoric. This simply exposes the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition to this transaction.
‘On the other hand, our commitment to great content is matched by our commitment to acceptance – to every story, every storyteller, and no blacklists, no exceptions, for anyone.’
But Ruffalo has since come back again, sharing a written statement on X over the weekend, calling the accusation that he was antisemitic in any way ‘appalling and fundamentally dishonest’.
‘Criticising the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticising Jewish people,’ the 13 Going on 30 star wrote. ‘This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.’
Ruffalo insisted that his 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’.
‘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 added.
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‘This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinising 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 multi-billion-dollar 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.’
A Paramount spokesperson told NBC that it would make no further comment.
Hours later, Jim Berk, the CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a Jewish human rights organisation, praised Paramount for ‘refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade as political or corporate criticism’.
‘At a time when antisemitism is too often minimised, rationalised or repackaged in more socially acceptable language, this kind of moral clarity matters,’ his statement added.
Responding to Ruffalo on Sunday morning, Hollywood star John Cusack offered his support, retweeting his statement on X and writing: ‘Solidarity — well said.’
The dispute comes at a critical point for Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. The companies announced their definitive agreement in February, valuing Warner Bros Discovery at $110billion (£80.7bn) and bringing businesses and franchises including Warner Bros, HBO, CNN, DC Studios, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones under the same corporate umbrella as Paramount.
The transaction has received regulatory clearances in nearly 70 jurisdictions, but it remains challenged in the US by 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America.
Paramount this week asked a federal judge to require the states challenging the acquisition to post a $1.88billion (£1.38bn) bond, arguing delays could leave it facing substantial fees.
Ruffalo has been among Hollywood’s prominent critics of the transaction, while concerns about consolidation, competition and employment have also emerged elsewhere in the entertainment industry.
A recent Los Angeles County report estimated that about 4,500 local film and television jobs could be at risk over three years if the deal proceeds.
The confrontation comes as Ruffalo remains closely associated with Bruce Banner and the Hulk, whom he has played across the Marvel Cinematic Universe since The Avengers in 2012.
He has also received four Academy Award nominations for The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher, Spotlight and Poor Things, and won an Emmy, Golden Globe and Actors’ Award for his dual performance in HBO’s I Know This Much is True.
Metro has contacted Oracle for comment.