{
  "id": 3407225,
  "title": "Jane Fonda Slams Paramount For Calling Mark Ruffalo’s Comments ‘Antisemitic’: ‘A Smear to Delegitimize Criticism of the Merger’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/jane-fonda-slams-paramount-for-calling-mark-ruffalos-comments",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T02:42:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Variety",
    "slug": "variety",
    "url": "https://variety.com/2026/film/news/jane-fonda-paramount-mark-ruffalo-smear-merger-warner-bros-1236843419/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Jane Fonda has expressed her support for Mark Ruffalo after Paramount labeled him \"antisemitic\" for criticizing the Ellison family's ties to Israel and the planned merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. In a statement, Fonda accused Paramount of using false accusations of antisemitism as a smear tactic to delegitimize Ruffalo's criticism of the merger.\n\nFonda argued that Ruffalo has a First Amendment right to speak out about politics, powerful corporations, and the proposed $111 billion merger. She questioned whether one company should be allowed to accumulate so much power over movies, television, and news. According to Variety, Fonda found it \"deeply troubling\" to see false accusations of antisemitism used in this way.\n\nTheWrap reported that Fonda and her 1A Committee formally defended Ruffalo in a memo, rejecting Paramount's attempt to label him \"antisemitic\" as a cynical tactic to distract from legitimate concerns over the Ellisons' business ties in the Middle East.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Variety",
        "title": "Haim Saban, Teddy Schwarzman and Lawrence Bender Among Those Condemning ‘Antisemitic’ Tropes in Mark Ruffalo’s Paramount Discourse: It ‘Puts Our Community in Grave Danger’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/haim-saban-teddy-schwarzman-and-lawrence-bender-among-those",
        "published": "2026-08-25T19:30:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TheWrap",
        "title": "Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender and Other Industry Figures Condemn Mark Ruffalo’s ‘Antisemitic Tropes’ in Open Letter",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/haim-saban-lawrence-bender-and-other-industry-figures-condemn-mark",
        "published": "2026-08-25T20:59:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter",
        "title": "Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender and Teddy Schwarzman Among Industry Group Accusing Mark Ruffalo of “Antisemitism” in Attack on Paramount Leadership",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/haim-saban-lawrence-bender-and-teddy-schwarzman-among-industry-group",
        "published": "2026-08-26T04:31:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}