US multimedia giant Paramount slammed Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo for invoking antisemitic tropes in an Instagram post on Friday in which he accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.
The outspoken anti-Israel ACTOR, known for his roles in the Avengers films, accused Paramount moguls David and Larry Ellison of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world” and warned of the danger of David Ellison’s bid to combine Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery.
A spokesperson for Paramount 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.”
In his post, Ruffalo referred to Larry Ellison as a “classic oligarch,” and he shared a video of Safra Catz, vice chair of Oracle, discussing the technological assistance the company provided to Israel following the Hamas-led October 7 attack.
Ruffalo encouraged his followers to “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.”
Ruffalo described Oracle as a company that “Larry Ellison uses to fund the purchase of Warner Brothers by his son David.” He then said its technologies “will probably be merged into one of the largest media corporations in the world, and one day be used against you.”
Paramount: lower the temperature, not raise it
Paramount urged those involved to “lower the temperature, not raise it,” and said Ruffalo’s remarks “expose the true motive of some of those who have acted against the deal.”
The studio also stressed that it would not blacklist creators who oppose the merger.
“Our commitment to excellent content matches our commitment to acceptance, for every story, every storyteller, with no blacklists and no exceptions,” a spokesperson stated.
Ruffalo has opposed the merger for months, arguing that it would harm thousands of Hollywood workers.
The latest dispute follows years of anti-Israel statements by Ruffalo. During a September 2025 interview on journalist Mehdi Hasan’s podcast, he called for the “boycott, divestment, sanctions, and prosecution” of Israel and spoke extensively about the war in Gaza.
A clip from the interview resurfaced in July, in which Ruffalo discussed his relationships with Jewish actors who support Israel. According to TMZ, he said the war had brought him to a point where he could no longer remain friends with some of them because of their support for Israel.