Mark Ruffalo has spent months campaigning against the proposed Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but the Marvel actor dramatically escalated his rhetoric Friday by dragging Oracle, Israel, and the war in Gaza into his case against the merger.
This time, Paramount fired back.
Ruffalo accused Oracle of providing technology used by the Israeli military, connected Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s wealth to the financing behind his son David Ellison’s Paramount-Warner Bros. deal, and warned that technology he described as “profoundly scary” could eventually be incorporated into one of the largest media companies in the world.
Paramount responded with an unusually blistering statement condemning what it described as “antisemitic tropes” being deployed in a business dispute and suggested Ruffalo’s comments may have exposed the “true motivation” behind some opposition to the merger.
Ruffalo Connects Paramount Merger To Israel And Gaza
According to TheWrap, Ruffalo shared footage Friday of Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz speaking about assistance the technology company provided Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
In the clip, Catz said: “There’s a few things that we did that I really can’t talk about to advance the agenda for the Israeli military.”
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Catz also referenced Oracle possessing “some really profoundly scary technology” that the company wanted to make available.
Ruffalo seized on those comments and attempted to connect Oracle’s work with Israel to the Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction through Larry and David Ellison.
Mark Ruffalo speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Thor: Ragnarok” Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
“This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David’s Warner Bros acquisition,” Ruffalo wrote.
Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, has provided substantial financial backing to his son’s entertainment ambitions.
But Ruffalo went far beyond an argument about where the Ellison family’s money originated.
“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 claimed.
Paramount Pictures Logo – YouTube, ClosingLogosHD
He further accused Oracle of helping power what he characterized as Israel’s “apartheid” and “gen**ide” in Gaza.
Ruffalo Calls Larry Ellison A ‘Classic Oligarch’
Ruffalo’s broadside against the Ellisons didn’t stop with Israel.
The actor branded Larry Ellison a “classic Oligarch” and accused the Ellison family of “crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance.”
He also called the proposed merger “illegal” and continued making the economic arguments that have formed the backbone of his campaign against the transaction.
Ruffalo claimed the merger threatens thousands of Hollywood jobs and would further concentrate control over entertainment in the hands of a small number of corporations.
A screenshot from Thor Ragnarok where Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo talks with Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth – YouTube, U Media
Those broader antitrust concerns aren’t exclusive to Ruffalo. More than 1,000 Hollywood professionals initially signed an April open letter opposing the roughly $110 billion transaction, according to Reuters, and the campaign subsequently attracted thousands of signatures.
The merger is also facing a lawsuit from 12 states challenging the deal on antitrust grounds, even after receiving U.S. Justice Department approval and approvals in numerous other jurisdictions. Paramount recently asked a federal judge to require the states challenging the transaction to post a $1.88 billion bond, arguing delays could expose the company to enormous “ticking fees.”
There are, in other words, legitimate arguments being made about consolidation, employment, and competition.
Ruffalo chose Friday to take the fight somewhere very different.
Paramount Blasts Ruffalo Over ‘Antisemitic Tropes’
Paramount responded to Ruffalo with a statement that was considerably more aggressive than the studio’s previous responses to opposition from Hollywood celebrities.
“We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute,” a Paramount spokesperson told Variety.
The company specifically took issue with Ruffalo attempting to inject allegations of ge**cide and apartheid into the Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction.
“Words like ‘ge**cide’ 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,” Paramount said.
David Ellison talks to Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
The company added that it does not “tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”
Then Paramount delivered perhaps the most explosive part of its response.
“This simply exposes the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition to this transaction,” the company declared.
Paramount concluded that the transaction should be considered “on its legal merits, not underlying bias.”
That represents a significant escalation in an already nasty fight over the future of Warner Bros.
Paramount isn’t merely disputing Ruffalo’s argument. The company is suggesting that his rhetoric raises questions about the motivations behind at least some of the campaign against the merger.
Ruffalo Once Said Calling Israel’s Actions ‘Ge**cide’ Was Inflammatory And Could Fuel Antisemitism
There is another piece of Ruffalo’s history that makes this confrontation particularly remarkable.
Ruffalo himself once warned about using precisely this terminology.
During the 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas, Ruffalo apologized after previously suggesting Israel was committing ge**cide.
I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing “genocide”. It’s not accurate, it’s inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 25, 2021
“I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing ‘ge**cide,’” Ruffalo wrote at the time. “It’s not accurate, it’s inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad.”
Ruffalo concluded, “Now is the time to avoid hyperbole.”
The original May 2021 statement remains available through Ruffalo’s X account and was widely reported at the time.
Five years later, Ruffalo is once again using “ge**cide” while discussing Israel — this time while simultaneously connecting an American Jewish billionaire and his family’s wealth to the consolidation of an enormous media empire.
Whatever one thinks about Ruffalo’s current position on Gaza, the contrast with his own previous warning about that rhetoric is difficult to ignore.
Ruffalo Has Become One Of Hollywood’s Faces Of The Anti-Merger Campaign
Ruffalo has emerged as one of the most outspoken celebrity opponents of the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal.
In April, Ruffalo joined Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, and more than 1,000 other entertainment professionals in signing a letter urging regulators to block the transaction.
The letter warned that further studio consolidation could mean “fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences,” according to contemporaneous reporting.
Mark Ruffalo being interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel – Youtube, Jimmy Kimmel Live
Ruffalo later claimed that other Hollywood figures were afraid to sign the letter because they feared being blacklisted by the newly enlarged Paramount.
The actor has therefore been fighting this merger for months. What changed Friday was the nature of the argument. Rather than focusing exclusively on jobs, antitrust law, consumer prices, or Hollywood consolidation, Ruffalo connected the transaction to Oracle’s relationship with Israel and the war in Gaza.
Paramount clearly decided that crossed a line.
Paramount-Ruffalo Feud Takes Merger Fight Into Uncharted Territory
The irony is that the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is already facing serious questions that have nothing to do with Israel.
Twelve Democrat-led states are fighting the transaction in court. Hollywood unions and celebrities have raised concerns about job losses and consolidation. Paramount maintains that combining the companies will create a stronger competitor to companies such as Netflix and Disney.
Those arguments can ultimately be litigated on economic and antitrust grounds.
Logos for Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. – Paramount, WB
Ruffalo instead decided to introduce accusations involving war crimes, Israel, Oracle, and the Ellison family into the debate. Paramount responded by publicly condemning “antisemitic tropes” and suggesting the comments reveal an “underlying bias” behind some opposition to the transaction.
For a company trying to complete one of the largest entertainment acquisitions in history to level that kind of criticism against one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors is extraordinary.
Ruffalo wanted to turn up the temperature on the Paramount-Warner Bros. fight. Paramount just turned it right back on him.
How do you feel about this ongoing conflict between Mark Ruffalo and Paramount? Sound off and let us know!
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