Mark Ruffalo Condemns Paramount’s Anti‑Semitic Label of His Merger Criticism as “Appalling and Fundamentally Dishonest”

Mark Ruffalo has responded to Paramount’s characterization of his opposition to the proposed $110 billion Paramount‑Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery as anti‑Semitic, calling the accusation “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”

The deal would combine Paramount Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a conglomerate that controls a broad portfolio of film, television, news and streaming properties—including Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, CNN, TNT Sports, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Channel 5, Paramount+, the DC Universe, the Harry Potter franchise, Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings.

Ruffalo has been one of the merger’s most vocal critics. He previously accused Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison, of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.”

In an Instagram story, Ruffalo highlighted a statement by Paramount board member Safra Catz about “really profoundly scary technologies” Oracle has supplied to the Israeli military after the October 7 attacks. He likened Larry Ellison to a “classic oligarch” and argued that such moguls “are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance.”

“This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country,” Ruffalo added. He warned that the transaction would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros., backed in part by foreign capital whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully disclosed. He stressed that scrutinizing the Ellisons’ data‑driven, surveillance‑focused business and its impact on editorial freedom is “fair and necessary.”

Nobody but the folks who are set to profit heavily off this merger and who have tanked our economy in the past like Jamie Dimon are for this thing. If it wasn’t for the cozy relationship the Ellison’s have with Trump and a partisan and compromised DOJ this would have been stopped…

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 12, 2026

Following Ruffalo’s initial criticism, a Paramount spokesperson told Variety that the company is “troubled when anti‑Semitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute.” The statement continued that words like “genocide” 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.”

Ruffalo responded on X, posting the following:

The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue…

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 22, 2026

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice cleared the merger, despite widespread industry opposition. The approval followed months of negotiations, during which Netflix briefly emerged as a potential bidder before withdrawing in February. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders endorsed the $111 billion takeover in April, with Paramount Skydance backed by the Ellison family and the tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s son David.

President Donald Trump, who has praised Larry Ellison as a “tremendous man,” supported the deal indirectly. More than 1,000 industry professionals signed an open letter opposing the acquisition.

Amid ongoing antitrust challenges, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery have agreed to pause the merger until June 2027 while a judge considers a lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general.

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