Mark Ruffalo defended by 170 Jewish figures after Paramount antisemitism claims

More than 170 Jewish artists, academics, and creative professionals have signed an open letter defending actor Mark Ruffalo against accusations of antisemitism. The controversy arose after Ruffalo criticized the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, specifically targeting the Ellison family.

Ruffalo’s social media posts linked the Ellison family—whose company Oracle provides technology to the Israeli military—to the conflict in Gaza, which he described as a “genocide” occurring within an “apartheid system of oppression.” Paramount responded by accusing the actor of using “antisemitic tropes” to influence a corporate business dispute.

In support of Ruffalo, filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan called the allegations a “cynical and disgusting lie” and a “deflection” intended to avoid addressing the substance of Ruffalo’s political commentary. Signatories including Joel Coen, Todd Haynes, and Hannah Einbinder argued that criticizing military contracts or corporate power does not constitute antisemitism and denounced the “weaponization” of such charges.