Mark Ruffalo accused of antisemitism by Hollywood insiders over Paramount merger remarks
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.
They argued the actor invoked tropes about Jewish wealth and power while attacking Paramount leadership and its proposed $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
"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, which calls itself The Brigade, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Paramount responded to Fox News Digital Thursday after being asked about The Brigade’s statement and Ruffalo’s denial that his remarks were antisemitic.
"We stand by the statement," Paramount spokesperson Melissa Zukerman said, adding Paramount had no further comment.
Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party’s Jewish engagement chair, told Fox News Digital Thursday that Ruffalo’s prominence in the opposition to the merger reflected Hollywood’s liberal political activism, while praising The Brigade for challenging him.
"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."
The Brigade described itself as a group of nearly 1,000 members, friends and allies of the Jewish community working in entertainment. The statement's signatories also included Ram Bergman, Matti Leshem, Anthony Bregman, Micah Green and Lynn Harris.
Ruffalo rejected Paramount's earlier accusation in a statement provided to Fox News Digital Saturday, maintaining his objections targeted political and corporate decisions rather than Jewish people.
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"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 said.
The Brigade directly rejected that distinction, arguing that Ruffalo's focus on Israel while targeting Jewish executives imported a conspiracy narrative into a corporate debate.
"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.
The dispute began after Ruffalo shared an video from August of Safra Catz, an Oracle executive vice chair and Paramount board member, discussing technology Oracle used to assist Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks.
Ruffalo linked Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, to financing behind the proposed acquisition.
"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."
Paramount responded that Ruffalo had crossed from criticism of the transaction into prejudice and said it does not tolerate bias against anyone.
Hollywood figures have split over the dispute. John Cusack publicly backed Ruffalo over the weekend, while "Hacks" actress Hannah Einbinder called the antisemitism allegation ludicrous. The Simon Wiesenthal Center sided with Paramount, commending the company for responding.
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.