Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo posted a statement on X after a Paramount spokesperson accused him of pushing antisemitic tropes over his comments on the company’s planned merger with Warner Bros.
Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner and the Hulk in Disney’s Marvel films, wrote that the accusation that he is antisemitic is “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”
He has criticized Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison. Ruffalo said the control the merger would give them could be dangerous and could let foreign money influence editorial decisions.
Paramount spokesperson accuses Ruffalo of using antisemitic tropes in merger dispute
Ruffalo wrote that 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. He said this dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel. Fellow actor Benedict Cumberbatch calls the merger a calamity and has urged that the deal be blocked.
He stated: “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.”
Ruffalo added that everything he knows 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 his life.
The actor said the merger has real consequences for real people and for the entire country. He wrote that 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.
Ruffalo said 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 a serious national security review, and regulators still haven’t given the public a real answer, he wrote. Until they do, the merger shouldn’t move forward, according to Ruffalo.
In his earlier comments, Ruffalo called Larry Ellison a “classic oligarch” and warned about his connection to Oracle and the technology the company has given to the Israeli military. Ruffalo is a vocal Democrat and critic of Israel’s government and actions in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Ruffalo posted an expired Instagram story with a video of former Oracle CEO Safra Catz discussing “profoundly scary technology at Oracle.” According to Mediaite, he wrote: “This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David’s Warner Bros acquisition.” He added that 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.
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.”
A Paramount executive blamed merger opposition on antisemitism amid scrutiny of its Middle Eastern financing. The New York Times and others reported on Saturday that Paramount executives are set to hold preliminary talks with representatives for the California Attorney General’s office.
They hope to settle a lawsuit from the state, which has blocked the $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Reps for the state and Paramount are reportedly set to meet on Monday.
A dozen Democratic attorneys general filed the lawsuit. They claimed the merger will “lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content for film and TV, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.” Critics have taken issue with the merger as Larry Ellison is a close ally of President Donald Trump, and his son and Paramount completed a 2025 $8 billion merger with Skydance.
Warner Bros. would give the company control of CNN and other entities. The merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount received the green light from the Department of Justice, but Paramount has agreed to delay closing until 2027 amid the lawsuit and a judge’s blocking order.
Published: Aug 23, 2026 10:30 am