Two prominent Jewish advocacy groups have called out Mark Ruffalo for spreading “antisemitic tropes.”
“Words matter, and so does the willingness to draw a line when legitimate debate gives way to antisemitic tropes,” said Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“We commend Paramount for speaking clearly and refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade as political or corporate criticism. At a time when antisemitism is too often minimized, rationalized, or repackaged in more socially acceptable language, this kind of moral clarity matters.”
Ari Engel, executive director of Creative Community for Peace, also said in a statement: “Mark Ruffalo’s rhetoric has increasingly crossed the line from criticism of Israel into extremist and antisemitic messaging.”
Their intervention comes after Paramount issued a rare statement of condemnation against Ruffalo on Friday, in which the company said it is “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute.”
That statement was in response to the actor’s Instagram re-posting of a year-old video clip featuring Jewish Paramount Skydance board member Safra Catz speaking on a panel. In text accompanying the clip he told his 20 million Instagram followers it showed Catz “revelling” in a “genocide” powered by tech company Oracle, understood to be a tacit reference to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Catz is the former CEO of Oracle, which was co-founded by Larry Ellison, father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
Paramount Skydance is in the process of acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. Ruffalo has been one of the most vocal critics of the deal.
In his latest social media screed, Ruffalo said Larry Ellison was funding his son’s acquisition of Warner and that he would own “most of” the company if the deal, which is currently mired in legal tangling with 12 state attorneys general, went through.
Larry Ellison has reportedly committed up to $46.7 billion of the $111 billion deal, with a trio of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, also committing at least $24 billion.
Ruffalo, who is believed to have earned millions from his role as Hulk in the Marvel films, also called Ellison Sr. a “classic Oligarch” who is “crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance” in his commentary. He also accused the Ellisons of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.”
After Paramount issued its statement condemning his post, the Marvel actor fired back on X, saying the accusation of antisemitism “is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”
However, at least two Jewish orgs appear to agree with Paramount’s assessment. “Invoking Israel in an issue where it is completely irrelevant is a textbook case of obsession and demonization,” Berk, the Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO, continued in his statement. “Paramount was right to call it out. More leaders and institutions should have the courage to call antisemitism what it is, regardless of who is spreading it.”
Meanwhile CCFP’s Engel, noted: “Ruffalo now says accusations of antisemitism against him are ‘fundamentally dishonest.’ Intent does not erase impact. Repeatedly amplifying inflammatory falsehoods and rhetoric that mirrors historic antisemitic tropes helps normalize the violent anti-Jewish hatred we are seeing take hold once again around the world, regardless of how he chooses to describe his own motives.”
