ACTOR MARK RUFFALO has said it is \u201cappalling and fundamentally dishonest\u201d of entertainment giant Paramount Skydance to accuse him of using \u201cantisemitic tropes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Paramount is run by David Ellison, whose ultra-wealthy family is a close ally of US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
It has launched a $110 billion (\u20ac94.03 billion) bid for control of a stable of assets that includes Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN and the HBO Max streaming service.<\/p>\n
The dispute started when Ruffalo re-shared a video from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement which featured comments made by Oracle Executive Vice Chair Safra Catz.<\/p>\n
David Ellison\u2019s father, Larry Ellison, is the co-founder of technology company Oracle.<\/p>\n
In the video, Catz said \u201cwe have some really profoundly scary technology\u201d which Oracle has made available to Israel following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas.<\/p>\n
Ruffalo re-shared the video and remarked that Larry Ellison is \u201cusing [Oracle] to fund his son David\u2019s Warner Bros acquisition\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook how [Catz] revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle,\u201d added Ruffalo.<\/p>\n
In a rare statement over the weekend, Paramount said it was \u201ctroubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWords like \u2018genocide\u2019 and \u2018apartheid,\u2019 applied to a corporate transaction, aren\u2019t just wrong \u2013 they\u2019re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe,\u201d Paramount said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t deserve a response in kind \u2013 and to be clear, we don\u2019t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Ruffalo, in response, said: \u201cThe accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cCriticising the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticising Jewish people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe 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\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ruffalo said that \u201ceverything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted to X, Ruffalo said the Paramount merger has \u201creal consequences for real people, and for the entire country\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cScrutinising the Ellisons, including Oracle\u2019s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that \u201clawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven\u2019t given the public a real answer\u201d and that \u201cuntil they do, the merger shouldn\u2019t move forward\u201d.<\/p>\n
The merger has turned into an increasingly high-stakes row pitting Paramount against a coalition of liberal states who say the attempt to swallow Warner Bros. Pictures will be bad for filmmakers and bad for moviegoers.<\/p>\n
Last week, Paramount demanded California and other US states suing to block its merger put up $1.9 billion (\u20ac1.62 billion) to cover fees the company will have to pay if the deal gets delayed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ruffalo is well-known for his political activism and has even entered the fray in Irish politics.<\/p>\n
In 2020, he called on then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar<\/a> to block the Shannon liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.<\/p>\n