Studio's forceful rebuke follows actor's Instagram post tying Oracle's Israeli military ties to the Ellison family's Warner Bros. Discovery bid.
Paramount issued a sharply worded statement on Friday, August 21, 2026, condemning actor Mark Ruffalo's latest social media attack on the company's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, calling his remarks "antisemitic" and insisting the studio "does not tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone." The statement, provided to Variety and other outlets, came hours after Ruffalo posted an Instagram Story accusing the Ellison family and Oracle of "powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world."
The exchange marks one of the most direct public confrontations yet between a major Hollywood studio and a prominent actor over the roughly $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, a deal that would place CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. film and television assets under the control of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
What Ruffalo Posted and Why It Triggered a Response
In his Friday post, the four-time Oscar nominee shared a video clip of Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz describing "really profoundly scary technology" the company made available to the Israeli military amid the Gaza war. Ruffalo used the clip to argue that Oracle, co-founded by Larry Ellison, is complicit in what he described as a "genocide" built on an "apartheid system of oppression" against Palestinians.
Ruffalo then drew a direct line between that characterization and the pending merger, writing, "This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David's Warner Bros acquisition." He went further, calling the Ellisons "really profoundly scary people" and questioning why the Trump administration allowed what he called an "illegal merger" to proceed, pointing to the family's close ties to President Trump and what he termed a "partisan and compromised DOJ."
The post represented an escalation from Ruffalo's earlier criticism just a week prior, on August 13-14, when he took aim at JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other financial backers of the deal without naming the Ellisons directly. Friday's post, described by Variety as "scorched-earth," named the family explicitly and tied their fortune to the Gaza war for the first time in this round of commentary.
Paramount's Statement and Its Core Arguments
Paramount's response, relayed through a company spokesperson, did not mince words. "We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute," the statement read. It continued: "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."
The company said the comments did not "deserve a response in kind" but added, "to be clear, we don't tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone." Paramount called for a lowering of "the temperature" in the merger debate, stating it would "rather build than further engage in such rhetoric," while also suggesting that Ruffalo's remarks "expose the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition to this transaction."
The statement further emphasized a company commitment to "acceptance – to every story, every storyteller, and no blacklists, no exceptions, for anyone," and urged that the merger be evaluated "based on the legal merits, not underlying bias."
A History of Friction Over Israel and Gaza
Friday's dispute did not emerge in isolation. In September 2025, Paramount became the first major studio to publicly oppose an open letter from "Film Workers for Palestine" calling for a boycott of Israeli film institutions accused of "genocide and apartheid." Ruffalo was among thousands of signatories, alongside Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Tilda Swinton.
By November 2025, Variety reported that Paramount under David Ellison maintained an internal list of talent the company would not work with because they were deemed "overtly antisemitic," a practice that drew criticism from labor advocates and some industry observers who linked it to opposition against Israel's conduct in Gaza. Paramount's new statement, with its explicit pledge of "no blacklists, no exceptions," appears to directly address those earlier reports.
In June 2026, Axios reported that Paramount Skydance executives suspected antisemitism was influencing broader backlash against the WBD acquisition, a claim that predates Friday's specific exchange with Ruffalo but frames the studio's posture toward critics of the deal.
The Merger Fight Continues Amid Regulatory Scrutiny
Ruffalo has been a central organizer of celebrity opposition to the merger since at least April 2026, when he joined more than 1,000 film and television professionals in signing an open letter warning the deal would threaten competition, cost jobs and consolidate media power. He later said in May that many artists privately supported the letter but feared retaliation from the Ellisons, whom one source described to him as "vindictive."
The merger, which would reportedly eliminate 4,500 jobs, remains under legal challenge from a dozen state attorneys general, including California. Ruffalo has helped coordinate aspects of that legal opposition. As of the Variety report's publication on August 22, 2026, there has been no confirmed disciplinary or contractual action against Ruffalo, with the controversy centered instead on public rhetoric and the broader fight over whether the merger should proceed.
