Mark Ruffalo has fought aliens on screen, but his newest fight is with a Hollywood giant. Paramount Skydance accused the Avengers star of using antisemitic tropes after he slammed its planned merger, and Ruffalo is calling the accusation appalling and fundamentally dishonest.
How the feud started
On August 21, Ruffalo posted a resurfaced 2024 clip of Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz discussing technologies the company built for the Israeli military, and accused Oracle of supplying tech used in the Gaza war, per USA TODAY. He then questioned why Oracle connections should be comfortable with Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, and the merger is already on hold amid state attorneys general challenges, with an antitrust trial set for March 2, 2027.
Paramount fires back
The studio’s statement, shared with multiple outlets, said it is troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute, and that words like genocide and apartheid applied to a corporate transaction cheapen real suffering, per Anadolu Agency. It closed with a line aimed squarely at Ruffalo: we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Aug 21 | Ruffalo posts Oracle clip, questions the merger |
| Aug 22 | Paramount statement accuses him of antisemitic tropes |
| Aug 22 | Ruffalo on X: the accusation is appalling and fundamentally dishonest |
| Aug 23 | Jewish groups rebuke him; John Cusack backs Ruffalo |
Ruffalo’s response
The 58-year-old actor wrote that criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a military technology agreement, or the executives supplying such technology should not be equated with hostility toward Jewish people, stressing his deep love and respect for the Jewish people, per Anadolu Agency.
The fallout spreads
Four leading Jewish organizations have publicly rebuked Ruffalo and demanded a response, while actor John Cusack publicly stood in solidarity with him, per Fox News. The fight has become a flashpoint in the bigger debate over where criticism of Israel ends and antisemitism begins, playing out in public while a $110 billion media merger waits on a courtroom.
Quick answers
What did Mark Ruffalo say? He shared a clip of Oracle’s Safra Catz on tech built for Israel’s military and questioned its links to Paramount Skydance’s WBD acquisition.
What did Paramount accuse him of? Invoking antisemitic tropes in a business dispute, in a statement Ruffalo called appalling and fundamentally dishonest.
Who backs Ruffalo? John Cusack publicly; four major Jewish groups have demanded he respond to their rebuke.
The bottom line
Ruffalo, who returns as the Hulk in Marvel’s next phase alongside the cast moves in our Doomsday coverage, shows no sign of backing down, and Paramount has not softened its statement. Watch the merger courtroom, because this feud is now part of the deal’s storyline, much like the MCU threads in our Brand New Day explainer.
