Mark Ruffalo Faces Accusations of Antisemitism Over Comments on Paramount Merger

<p>Hollywood producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender, and Teddy Schwarzman accused actor Mark Ruffalo of "simple antisemitism" in an online statement issued by a group of nearly 1,000 industry insiders on Tuesday.</p><p>The group argued that Ruffalo invoked tropes about Jewish wealth and power while criticizing Paramount leadership and its proposed $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.</p><p>"This is not commentary on a merger. It is not a criticism of a government. It is simple antisemitism, where Jewish executives are portrayed as a secretive and powerful wealth-hoarding elite delighting in mass death," the group, known as The Brigade, stated in a release to The Hollywood Reporter.</p><p>Paramount responded to inquiries from Fox News Digital on Thursday regarding The Brigade’s statement and Ruffalo’s denial of antisemitism in his remarks.</p><p>"We stand by the statement," said Paramount spokesperson Melissa Zukerman, adding that the company had no further comment.</p><p>Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party’s Jewish engagement chair, commented on Fox News Digital that Ruffalo’s opposition to the merger reflected Hollywood’s liberal political activism, while commending The Brigade for their challenge against him.</p><p>"Ruffalo as an anti-merger spokesman is an odd choice given his extremist rhetoric that has completely discredited him with rational people," Barcohana said. "He is an activist more than an actor (indeed maybe that’s one in the same). I applaud The Brigade for organizing an oppositional force against the explosion of antisemitism within Hollywood and standing up to Ruffalo’s Israel Derangement Syndrome."</p><p>The Brigade described itself as a group of nearly 1,000 members, friends, and allies of the Jewish community working in entertainment. Notable signatories included Ram Bergman, Matti Leshem, Anthony Bregman, Micah Green, and Lynn Harris.</p><p>Ruffalo rejected Paramount's earlier accusation in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Saturday, asserting that his objections were aimed at political and corporate decisions rather than Jewish individuals.</p><p>"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," Ruffalo stated.</p><p>The Brigade countered that Ruffalo's focus on Israel while targeting Jewish executives introduced a conspiracy narrative into a corporate discussion.</p><p>"Singling out Jewish executives and describing them in terms lifted from centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theories, while invoking Israel as the frame for that attack, is antisemitic," The Brigade said.</p><p>The dispute began after Ruffalo shared a video from August featuring Safra Catz, an Oracle executive vice chair and Paramount board member, discussing technology Oracle used to assist Israel following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks.</p><p>Ruffalo linked Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, to financing behind the proposed acquisition.</p><p>"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," Ruffalo said. "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."</p><p>Paramount stated that Ruffalo had crossed from criticism of the transaction into prejudice and emphasized that it does not tolerate bias against anyone.</p><p>Hollywood figures have expressed differing opinions on the matter. John Cusack publicly supported Ruffalo over the weekend, while "Hacks" actress Hannah Einbinder described the antisemitism allegation as ludicrous. The Simon Wiesenthal Center sided with Paramount, praising the company for its response.</p><p>The proposed transaction would place CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. studio assets under the same family’s control. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it on antitrust grounds, and the companies agreed not to close until five days after a court ruling on the merits or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.</p>