Mark Ruffalo has been a consistent opponent of Paramount’s $111 billion deal for Warner Bros., testifying against the merger to a Senate hearing, signing an open letter along with hundreds of actors opposing the buy and amplifying his message on social media consistently.
His latest missive took aim at Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder worth about $200 billion who’s the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Larry’s billions are a key backstop to help his son’s merger of the two historic Hollywood studios cross the finish line.
Ruffalo’s post on Instagram highlighted Oracle’s ties to the Israeli military, circulating a clip of former Oracle chief Safra Catz talking up Oracle’s tech at the Israeli-American Council National Summit in 2024 as it related to Israel’s war effort in Gaza. In the clip, which was resurfaced over the past week by several social media accounts, the executive spoke about “profoundly scary technologies” the company had built that could be deployed. The Marvel actor added his own commentary and described the war as a “genocide” that “was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”
Ruffalo’s implication to his 20.5 million followers was to link Oracle, the Ellisons and their media empire all together, saying that the moguls “are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance.”
A spokesperson at Paramount took the normally unusual step of issuing a lengthy reply to Ruffalo, both calling for the temperature of the debate to be lowered while also deeming that actor’s remarks “antisemitic.”
“We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute,” the Paramount rep stated. “Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong — they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”
The studio rep elaborated, “This brings us to a moment to lower the temperature, not raise it. We’d rather build than further engage in such rhetoric. This simply exposes the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition to this transaction. On the other hand, our commitment to great content is matched by our commitment to acceptance – to every story, every storyteller, and no blacklists, no exceptions, for anyone.”
Paramount added, “We understand people feel strongly about this merger and are hopeful and expect that it will be judged based on the legal merits, not underlying bias. We’re asking for the same good faith we’re extending: less rhetoric, more understanding. Paramount’s future is being written for everyone who wants to make and watch great stories.”
Oracle, the Austin-based tech conglomerate, increasingly has become an AI power player as well as a stakeholder in TikTok’s U.S. operations. The far-reaching applications for its technology have come under increasing criticism from opponents of the Israel war in Gaza, as well as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that has lobbied against companies doing business with Israel. Oracle does have a notable presence in Israel, along with many other tech firms.
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