Actor Mark Ruffalo is at the center of a public dispute with Paramount after the studio accused him of using antisemitic language. The disagreement started when Ruffalo shared a social media post from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a group that campaigns against Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. The post featured comments from Oracle executive Safra Catz about the company’s support for Israel’s military.
Ruffalo used the post to criticize Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison is leading Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount Global. Ruffalo suggested that Oracle’s business was helping fund the merger, and he warned that technology tied to the Israeli military could end up connected to one of the world’s biggest media companies. He also said the merger itself could hurt workers, raise cable prices, and reduce competition in the film industry.
Paramount pushed back strongly, saying it was uncomfortable seeing words like “genocide” and “apartheid” used to describe a business deal. The company said such language cheapens real suffering and stated it does not tolerate any form of prejudice.
Ruffalo responded on social media, saying that criticizing the Israeli government, military contracts, or the executives involved is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. He argued that looking closely at the Ellison family’s business ties, including work involving data and government contracts, is fair and necessary.
Online reaction has largely sided with Ruffalo, with many social media users defending his comments and criticizing Paramount’s response instead.
