New York (QNN)- Mark Ruffalo has rejected Paramount's claims of antisemitism after the Oscar-nominated actor accused Oracle, whose co-founder Larry Ellison controls Paramount with his son, of complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza.
The American producer posted on Friday an old clip of former Oracle CEO and Paramount Skydance board member Safra Catz discussing 'profoundly scary technologies' used by the Israeli military after the start of the genocide in Gaza. He said Oracle of is complicity in "what we have now come to see as a genocide.”
Paramount is personally controlled by Larry, co-founder of the software and cloud computing company Oracle, and his son David. The studio said it was "troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked" in response to Ruffalo’s post.
This came amid Paramount Skydance's pending takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which is estimated at $111 billion and is awaiting final approval from the Trump administration.
In the Instagram post, Ruffalo shared the video clip of Catz and wrote: "This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David's Warner Bros. acquisition. These 'really profoundly scary technologies' will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you. 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."
Ruffalo also detailed his opposition to the merger, saying it will cost nearly 15,000 jobs and raise the price of cable television. "We have a chance to stop this. There are 12 state Attorneys General suing to block this merger. It will be catastrophic for our film industry," he wrote.
The following day, Ruffalo issued a statement on social media, rejecting the accusation of antisemitism. "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 is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel," he wrote.
“To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect," Ruffalo added.
"Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle's 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," Ruffalo added in the post, reiterating his opposition to the merger.
The four-time Academy Award-nominated actor has harshly slammed Israel and its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. Earlier this year, he joined a long list of industry figures calling on Israel to restore healthcare services in Gaza. Months earlier, Ruffalo was one of roughly 1,300 Hollywood professionals who signed on a petition pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."
