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More than 180 Jewish entertainers and artists signed a letter Tuesday “proudly” voicing support for actor Mark Ruffalo after he was accused of antisemitism in his opposition to the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger.
“We are Jewish artists, writers, creative professionals, faith leaders and thinkers who have, in response to the outrageous smear campaign against our respected colleague Mark Ruffalo, a simple message to share with the world: Enough!” the letter read, according to Variety.
“Enough with the false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism against those who are brave enough to point out the obvious: that 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.”
Ruffalo was previously accused of invoking “antisemitic tropes” by Paramount after the Marvel star shared a video from August of Safra Catz, an Oracle executive vice chair and Paramount board member, discussing technology Oracle used to assist Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
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Mark Ruffalo has been accused of spreading “antisemitic tropes” by Paramount. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
He linked Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, to financing behind the proposed acquisition and suggested the merger would be used to push “oppression.”
“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,” Ruffalo said. “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.”
The Jewish artists, who include Abbi Jacobson, Alex Winter, Gina Gershon, Ilana Glazer, James Schamus, Joel Coen, Larry Charles, Kate Berlant, Naomi Klein, Sarah Sherman, Jane Schoenbrun, Todd Haynes and Tony Kushner, denied this comment was antisemitic, claiming executives “themselves have explicitly linked to their support for the ongoing depredations being visited on the people of Palestine and their silencing of critics of those horrors.”
“The AI road to WarnerMount runs through Gaza, and Ellison has often let us know the Orwellian world he has in store for us as he consolidates control over what we watch and how we watch it, knowing that as we watch he and his corrupt cohort will always be watching us,” the letter read.
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Several Hollywood celebrities have defended Ruffalo against charges of antisemitism. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
The celebrities also argued that a majority of American Jews now believe that Israel committed war crimes against Gaza, with a significant portion believing Israel is guilty of genocide. They called for an end to “spurious charges of antisemitism” against people like Ruffalo.
“Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism. It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty,” the letter read.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ruffalo’s representatives for comment.
Ruffalo previously denied pushing antisemitism in a statement to Fox News Digital after Paramount’s original condemnation.
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Mark Ruffalo has denied spreading antisemitism in a statement to Fox News Digital. (Hoda Davaine/Getty Images)
“The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest,” Ruffalo said. “Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people.”
Ruffalo continued to receive backlash after a group of nearly 1,000 industry insiders, calling itself The Brigade, released a statement condemning the actor last week.
“This is not commentary on a merger. It is not a criticism of a government. It is simple antisemitism, where Jewish executives are portrayed as a secretive and powerful wealth-hoarding elite delighting in mass death,” the statement read.
Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party’s Jewish engagement chair, told Fox News Digital Thursday that Ruffalo’s prominence in the opposition to the merger reflected Hollywood’s liberal political activism, while praising The Brigade for challenging him.
“Ruffalo as an anti-merger spokesman is an odd choice given his extremist rhetoric that has completely discredited him with rational people,” Barcohana said.
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“He is an activist more than an actor (indeed maybe that’s one in the same). I applaud The Brigade for organizing an oppositional force against the explosion of antisemitism within Hollywood and standing up to Ruffalo’s Israel Derangement Syndrome.”
Fox News’ CJ Womack contributed to this report.
