More than 170 members of the Jewish entertainment community, including Hannah Einbinder, Joel Coen, and Canadian filmmaker Emma Seligman, have jointly signed a public statement in support of American actor Mark Ruffalo, denouncing what they labeled as an “outrageous smear campaign” against him.
The open letter, made public on Tuesday, underlines the solidarity of Jewish artists, writers, creative professionals, faith leaders, and intellectuals with a clear and resolute message: “Enough!” According to the letter, Ruffalo has been unfairly targeted with false and harmful accusations of antisemitism for his opposition to Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and for drawing parallels between the deal and the conflict in Gaza.
Paramount Skydance, in which CEO David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, hold a 47% stake, has openly expressed its support for Israel, with a top executive previously acknowledging the sharing of technology with the Israeli military. Efforts to obtain comments from Ruffalo’s representatives, Paramount Skydance, and Oracle, the technology company associated with the Ellisons, are currently underway.
In a recent statement to various media outlets, including TheWrap and The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount criticized Ruffalo for allegedly invoking antisemitic stereotypes while criticizing the proposed merger. The statement emphasized that terms like “genocide” and “apartheid” used in the context of a corporate deal are not only inaccurate but also diminish the gravity of the actual suffering associated with those terms.
A previous letter, endorsed by over 1,000 Jewish members of the entertainment industry, similarly condemned Ruffalo’s statements for singling out Jewish executives using terms linked to historical antisemitic conspiracy theories. Despite the recent open letter in his defense, Ruffalo has not publicly responded, although he has shared a video on Instagram criticizing the merger.
The ongoing clash between Ruffalo and Paramount escalated following his criticism of the merger in August, focusing particularly on Oracle’s involvement with the Israeli military. Ruffalo’s concerns about the merger extending to potential job losses, increased consumer prices, and reduced industry competition have added to the contentious debate surrounding the acquisition.
The letter released in support of Ruffalo represents a growing chorus of voices within the entertainment industry, with signatories such as author Naomi Klein, retired rabbi David Mivasair, physician Gabor Maté, actor Ilana Glazer, and filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun standing in solidarity with Ruffalo and others advocating for truth and accountability in the face of power dynamics.