Mark Ruffalo rejects Paramount’s claim his merger criticism was ‘antisemitic’

What Mark Ruffalo actually said

Calling the accusation “appalling and fundamentally dishonest” in a statement posted on X on Saturday morning, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The actor, a vocal opponent of Paramount’s $111 billion deal for Warner Bros, had shared a 2024 clip of former Oracle chief Safra Catz discussing “profoundly scary technologies” built by the company.

This came in remarks relating to the Israel-Gaza war.

Ruffalo went on to describe the war as a “genocide” that “was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle”.

In an Instagram story he argued those technologies “will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world.“

"They are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance”.

Paramount replied at length, calling Ruffalo to bring down the debate and describing his remarks as antisemitic. Variety also carried the exchange.

Ruffalo said on X: "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.

"This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel."

Ruffalo added that his views come from his own political convictions and “should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect”.

The actors credits Jewish friends and colleagues with shaping everything he knows about “acting, activism and humanism”.

The criticism lands with the merger unresolved and a Warner Bros slate under strain, from Warner Bros’ stalled Barbie sequel to delayed releases.

Neither side is backing down.