180+ Jewish artists defend Ruffalo against antisemitism accusations over merger criticism

In late August, actor Mark Ruffalo posted a video featuring Safra Catz, an Oracle executive and Paramount board member, discussing technology the company had provided to Israel following the October 7 attacks. Ruffalo connected this to the proposed merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, linking Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison—father of Paramount CEO David Ellison—to the deal's financing. He warned that these surveillance technologies would be absorbed into one of the world's largest media companies and eventually deployed against the public. "Look how she revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle," he said in the video.

Paramount responded by accusing Ruffalo of invoking antisemitic tropes. The studio's position was that his comments portrayed Jewish executives as a secretive, wealthy cabal wielding disproportionate power—a classic antisemitic framework. Ruffalo denied the charge in a statement, arguing that criticizing Israeli military actions, technology contracts, or the executives who facilitate them is fundamentally different from attacking Jewish people as a group.

On Tuesday, more than 180 Jewish entertainers and artists signed a letter in his defense. The signatories included filmmaker Joel Coen, playwright Tony Kushner, comedian Ilana Glazer, actress Gina Gershon, screenwriter James Schamus, and others working across film, television, theater, and music. They framed Ruffalo's criticism not as antisemitism but as an ethical obligation rooted in Jewish values. "Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism. It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty," the letter stated.

The signatories argued that Paramount and its allies had weaponized antisemitism accusations to silence legitimate criticism. They noted that the executives in question had themselves publicly linked their support for Israeli actions in Gaza to their business decisions. The letter also cited polling suggesting that a majority of American Jews now believe Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, with a significant portion believing the actions constitute genocide. By this measure, they argued, Ruffalo's position reflected mainstream Jewish opinion, not antisemitic fringe ideology.

But Ruffalo faced substantial opposition. A group calling itself The Brigade, comprising nearly 1,000 industry insiders, released a statement condemning him. They characterized his comments as straightforward antisemitism dressed up as merger criticism or political commentary. "This is simple antisemitism, where Jewish executives are portrayed as a secretive and powerful wealth-hoarding elite delighting in mass death," The Brigade wrote.

Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party's Jewish engagement chair, told Fox News that Ruffalo's prominence in opposing the merger reflected Hollywood's liberal activism. She praised The Brigade for organizing resistance and described Ruffalo's rhetoric as "extremist" and discrediting. She also invoked the phrase "Israel Derangement Syndrome" to characterize his position.

The dispute sits at the intersection of several fault lines: whether criticism of Israeli military actions and the technology companies supporting them can be separated from criticism of Jewish people; whether accusations of antisemitism have become a tool to suppress legitimate political speech; and how Hollywood's Jewish community itself is divided on these questions. Ruffalo's defenders argue the distinction is clear and necessary. His critics contend that the language and framing he employed, regardless of intent, traffics in harmful stereotypes. The letter from 180-plus Jewish artists suggests the community is far from unified on where that line falls.