Hollywood’s Jews take sides in Mark Ruffalo-Paramount antisemitism row
Several leading Jewish groups have said that Ruffalo's post stepped beyond legitimate criticism of the merger and into classic antisemitic rhetoric about Jewish wealth and power.
Some 170 prominent Jewish figures have signed an open letter in defense of actor and producer Mark Ruffalo, who has faced accusations of antisemitism following comments about Paramount Skydance's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The letter, released on Wednesday, called the attacks against Ruffalo a "false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism."
Notable signatories include "Broad City" creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, filmmakers Joel Coen, Jonathan Glazer, and Todd Haynes, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, and actors Hannah Einbinder, Joaquin Phoenix, and Debra Winger.
In late August, Ruffalo took to social media to link Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to Oracle, accusing the tech giant of perpetuating an "apartheid system of oppression" in Gaza. Ellison, one of the world's wealthiest men, is a prominent supporter of Israel and owns a stake in TikTok's US operations. Ruffalo also accused Ellison of being a "classic oligarch" who is "crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance."
The $110 billion merger is currently under review in federal court in California amidst antitrust concerns and opposition from various groups, including several leading Jewish organizations that have condemned Ruffalo's comments as invoking "recognizable antisemitic tropes."
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