Mark Ruffalo Slams Paramount-Ellison Merger Over Oracle’s ‘Genocide’ Ties to Gaza

Actor Mark Ruffalo is calling out the pending $111 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, saying Oracle’s complicity in what he describes as the “genocide” of Palestinians makes the deal a threat to both the media industry and the public.The Oscar-nominated actor and activist — currently featured in the box-office hit “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” — took to Instagram to raise the alarm after a video surfaced of Oracle’s executive vice chairman, Safra Catz, boasting about the company’s covert support for the Israeli military.“There’s a few things that we did that I really can’t talk about to advance the agenda for the Israeli military,” Ms. Catz said in a panel recording reposted by Mr. Ruffalo. “But we have some really profoundly scary technology at Oracle, and we wanted to make sure that it was available for the effort.”The connection matters because Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison — a vocal Trump supporter and son of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison — stands to control not only one of Hollywood’s biggest studios, but also CNN, should the merger proceed. Mr. Ruffalo argued the implications are chilling.In a full post shared to his Instagram Story, Mr. Ruffalo 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.“There is an old saying. ‘The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.’From one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world. Why has Trump pushed this illegal merger through?Larry Ellison will own most of ‘Para Bros’. Larry is a classic Oligarch. They are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance.“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. There will be a loss of 4,500 direct filmmaking jobs and the loss of another 10k ancillary jobs. Mergers like this are almost always bad for workers, consumers, and the industry they tend to dominate.“Really profoundly scary people.”Paramount responded Saturday with its own lengthy statement, saying, “We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. 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.”Saying that Mr. Ruffalo’s outburst “simply exposes the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition” to the proposed merger, the company expressed its commitment to “great content” and its acceptance of every storyteller with “no blacklists, no exceptions, for anyone.”“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.” the statement continued. “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.”The merger is being challenged by a dozen state attorneys general, including in California, over concerns about job losses and market consolidation. Critics also warn it could give the Ellison family sweeping control over major news and entertainment outlets.Mr. Ruffalo’s comments come amid a broader campaign by the actor against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Palestinian health officials. That campaign was prompted by Hamas’ massacre of about 1,200 persons in Israel on October 7, 2023, but Mr. Ruffalo has repeatedly described Israel’s response as genocide, as have several United Nations agencies and human rights groups.Separately, Mr. Ruffalo slammed the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after the dismissal of the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who had issued arrest warrants accusing Mr. Netanyahu and a former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr. Netanyahu had described the charges as “a scandal on a historic scale.”“You are a murderous maniac, Benjamin Netanyahu,” Mr. Ruffalo wrote on X. “You will not outrun justice.”Mr. Ruffalo’s stance on Gaza has not been without controversy. In May 2021, he publicly apologized for posts that suggested Israel was committing genocide during the Israel-Hamas fighting that year. “I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing ‘genocide’. It’s not accurate, it’s inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole,” he wrote on X at the time.This article has been updated to include Paramount’s response to Mr. Ruffalo.

Mark Ruffalo Slams Paramount-Ellison Merger Over Oracle’s ‘Genocide’ Ties to Gaza

Mark Ruffalo Slams Paramount-Ellison Merger Over Oracle’s ‘Genocide’ Ties to Gaza

More from the New York Sun

Investigation Launched Into Claims Female Workers Told To Be ‘Invisible’ During Hindu Group’s Eiffel Tower Visit

Lindsay Clancy’s Attorney Asks Trump To Pardon His Client After Mistrial Declared

Maverick Pharaohs and the Egyptian Art of Royal Reinvention

The Man Who Helped Make Marvel a Universe

Democrats’ Left Flank Looks for One Last Upset Win in New Hampshire

Comey, in Bid To Dismiss ‘86 47’ Case, Argues That Blanche Charged Him With the Wrong Crime

Air Force Audits Fallen Airman’s Benefits as Widow Debates Semantics Over Classification of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

Shortage Driven By War, Climate, and Energy Prices Hike Cost of Sugar Worldwide

More from the New York Sun

Investigation Launched Into Claims Female Workers Told To Be ‘Invisible’ During Hindu Group’s Eiffel Tower Visit

Lindsay Clancy’s Attorney Asks Trump To Pardon His Client After Mistrial Declared

Maverick Pharaohs and the Egyptian Art of Royal Reinvention

The Man Who Helped Make Marvel a Universe

Democrats’ Left Flank Looks for One Last Upset Win in New Hampshire

Comey, in Bid To Dismiss ‘86 47’ Case, Argues That Blanche Charged Him With the Wrong Crime

Air Force Audits Fallen Airman’s Benefits as Widow Debates Semantics Over Classification of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

Shortage Driven By War, Climate, and Energy Prices Hike Cost of Sugar Worldwide