Updated
Updated · Deadline · Aug 23
Wiesenthal Center CEO Rebukes Mark Ruffalo Over 2 Antisemitic Tropes Tied to Paramount-Israel Claims
Updated
Updated · Deadline · Aug 23

Wiesenthal Center CEO Rebukes Mark Ruffalo Over 2 Antisemitic Tropes Tied to Paramount-Israel Claims

2 articles · Updated · Deadline · Aug 23

Summary

  • Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Mark Ruffalo crossed into antisemitic tropes by invoking Israel in criticism of Paramount’s pending media deal.
  • Berk backed Paramount’s earlier response, arguing Ruffalo conflated a corporate transaction with the Israel-Hamas war and used language that amounted to obsession and demonization.
  • Ruffalo had written that Larry Ellison was using Paramount to fund son David Ellison’s Warner Bros acquisition, while citing Oracle technology used by the Israeli military and calling it part of a “genocide” and “apartheid” system.
  • Paramount said those terms, applied to a business dispute, were wrong and trivialized real suffering; Deadline said it had sought further comment from Ruffalo.

Insights

Where does Hollywood draw the line between legitimate political critique of military tech and unacceptable corporate demonization?
Could an actor's social media crusade actually derail one of the largest entertainment mega-mergers in history?
Are media giants using accusations of hate speech to deflect criticism from a controversial $111 billion monopoly merger?