More Than 180 Jewish Figures Defend Mark Ruffalo After He’s Accused of Antisemitism

Shiryn Ghermezian

Mark Ruffalo attends “Crime 101” European Gala Screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, England, UK, Jan. 28, 2026. Photo: James Warren/Famous Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

More than 180 Jewish figures in the media and entertainment industry signed an open letter on Tuesday in support of actor Mark Ruffalo, after the Marvel star was accused of making antisemitic remarks while criticizing the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

In a social media post on Aug. 21, Ruffalo slammed the merger and also accused the Ellison family, who are Jewish, of being complicit in the “genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip because of the Larry Ellison-founded technology company Oracle and its ties to Israel. Ellison’s son, David Ellison, is the CEO of Paramount.

Ruffalo posted on Instagram a clip of Jewish Paramount board member and former Oracle CEO Safra Catz and claimed 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 accused the Ellisons of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.” A spokesperson for Catz later clarified that the Oracle technology mentioned in Ruffalo’s social media post “was in fact intended for use in rescuing hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack.”

A Paramount spokesperson accused Ruffalo of promoting “antisemitic tropes” in his criticism of the merger and nearly 1,000 Hollywood industry figures accused the Marvel star of sharing “antisemitic conspiracy theories.” They said in part: “It is unacceptable to introduce Jews, antizionism [sic], or antisemitism into conversations about business transactions, simply because those involved are Jewish.”

In their open letter on Tuesday, shared by Variety, the Jewish figures claim Ruffalo has been the target of a “smear campaign” and attack the “spurious charges of antisemitism” against the actor. They criticize what they call the “false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism,” while also echoing Ruffalo’s sentiments against the merger and the alleged “genocide” taking place in the Gaza Strip. The signatures include musicians, producers, screenwriters, actors, filmmakers, writers, journalists, professors and even rabbis. Those who signed the open letter include Joaquin Phoenix, Hannah Einbinder, “The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer, Todd Haynes, Ilana Glazer, journalist Peter Beinart, actress Rosanna Arquette, screenwriter Tony Kushner, and “Young Sheldon” actor Wallace Shawn.

“The assault on the Palestinian people and the assault on our liberties at home are deeply interconnected, and there is nothing antisemitic about recognizing that fact,” they claim in the open letter. They accuse Larry Ellison and his partners of supporting “the ongoing depredations being visited on the people of Palestine and their silencing of critics of those horrors.” They allege that Gaza has become “an open-air laboratory for AI-driven killing and control technologies like the ones celebrated” by Catz.

“Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism,” they claim. “It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty,” they continue, before spewing accusations about Israel committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza. “The time is over for spurious charges of antisemitism to be trotted out, this time in the defense of war, oligarchy, and AI domination.”

Ruffalo denied being antisemitic, calling the claims “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.” Others who have defended Ruffalo’s offensive comments include Oscar-winning filmmaker and playwright Kenneth Lonergan, Oscar winner Jane Fonda, and John Cusack.