It seems that lately Mark Ruffalo has earned himself some enemies. The actor has been publicly protesting against Israel over the genocide in Palestine, and he has not hesitated to attack various companies and movements connected to the country. For some time now he has expressed his discontent with Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros., as many other actors have done, but he appears to have touched a sore spot because he Paramount itself responded.
The message from Ruffalo has been shared publicly via his social networks, along with a note reflecting on Oracle’s recent moves. “This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to finance his son David’s acquisition of Warner Bros,” the actor highlighted, referring to the Paramount acquisition. “Look at how he revels in what we have come to regard as genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression driven by Oracle.”
A Matter of Words
In the same message, Ruffalo urged his followers to do whatever they can to stop the merger. “[The merger] means fewer options for the public. It also concentrates enormous creative control in the hands of companies that say and do things like this strange Oracle woman. These are people who are truly scary.” It is with these final words that he has sparked controversy, as people have interpreted them as a direct message to the Jewish community.
Here is where Paramount has responded with an open statement against the actor’s words. “We are concerned that antisemitic tropes are used under the pretext that they help resolve a business dispute,” commented the company spokesperson. “Terms like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’, applied to a business operation, are not only wrong, but go too far and belittle the very real suffering that those words seek to describe.”
Ruffalo Responds
As expected, Mark Ruffalo did not delay in addressing Paramount’s allegations, denying them. Criticizing Israel’s actions in Palestine and condemning antisemitism are not the same thing, and the actor asserts that his statements contain no hostility toward the Jewish people.
“Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a contract for military technology, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing the Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is later misrepresented, in bad faith, as an anti-Israel stance. To be clear, my views arise from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward the Jewish people, whom I deeply love and respect. All I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been deeply shaped by my Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones, who have been a fundamental part of my life and whom I have always considered family,” the actor states.
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