Prominent Jewish Figures Defend Mark Ruffalo Amid Antisemitism Claims

Around 170 Jewish personalities, including actors, filmmakers and rabbis, issued an open letter on Wednesday defending actor Mark Ruffalo after his comments on the Paramount-Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery were labeled antisemitic by several Jewish groups. Signatories such as Abbi Jacobson, Joel Coen, Tony Kushner, Joaquin Phoenix and George Clooney described the accusations as a “false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism.”

Ruffalo had posted on social media that Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison leads the merger, would “own most of ‘Para Bros’” and called him a “classic oligarch” consolidating wealth and power. The post, which has since been removed, linked the deal to Oracle’s ties with Israel and to what Ruffalo called an “apartheid system of oppression” in Gaza.

Paramount responded, saying Ruffalo’s remarks invoked classic antisemitic tropes and revealed the true motivation of some merger opponents. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and groups such as Creative Community for Peace and the Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned the comments, saying they combined references to Jewish wealth, media control and global power.

Supporters among progressive Jews, including IfNotNow co-founder Simone Zimmerman, historian Raz Segal and editor Peter Beinart, argued that highlighting connections between Gaza and Hollywood is a Jewish ethical duty, not antisemitism. Oscar-winning director Kenneth Lonergan, a longtime friend of Ruffalo, called the antisemitism charge “preposterous” and “a cynical and disgusting lie.”

The $110 billion merger is under antitrust review in California, with a trial scheduled for March 2027 and a daily penalty clause if the deal fails to close by October. Ruffalo is set to appear at the Toronto International Film Festival for the September 10 premiere of the biopic "Being Heumann."