George Clooney is the latest star to defend Mark Ruffalo after Paramount had accused the star of antisemitism.
The 65-year-old A-lister stood up for free speech and the embattled 58-year-old Avengers star, who was also recently defended by 170 Jewish entertainment figures in an open letter.
Ruffalo, 58, was accused of ‘antisemitic tropes’ by Paramount Skydance after opposing the company’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery. He has insisted that his issue has to do with military contracts and executive actions, not Jewish people. He had previously described Israel’s military actions as ‘genocide.’
Paramount CEO David Ellison is the son of billionaire technology mogul Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of major software company Oracle, which has provided technological assistance to Israel amid its strikes on Gaza.
Now, Clooney has defended Ruffalo during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival ahead of receiving the fest’s highest honor, a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.
The ER star was asked to respond to Paramount’s criticism of Ruffalo as he replied: ‘I support Mark Ruffalo’s ability to speak freely. I think that that’s ridiculous. We’re not going to ban speech.
George Clooney is the latest star to defend Mark Ruffalo after Paramount had accused the star of antisemitism
Ruffalo, 58, was accused of ‘antisemitic tropes’ by Paramount Skydance after opposing the company’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery. He has insisted that his issue has to do with military contracts and executive actions, not Jewish people
‘I believe in free speech even when I completely disagree with it. That’s important, right? In fact, it’s part of how a democracy works. There are going to be people tonight in the room that are going to disagree with most everything I say or stand for. Fair enough. That’s how it’s supposed to be. We’re supposed to argue these things out and come to a conclusion based on the information that we take in.’
Clooney then went on to speak about Ruffalo personally.
He said: ‘I will always support Mark Ruffalo’s ability to speak freely. I like him. He’s a good man.’
The global ambassador for Nespresso then touched on how he felt about the merger itself, which he called a ‘complicated thing,’ and said that he predicts it doesn’t go through and feels like it won’t actually benefit the people behind it like the aforementioned Ellison.
Clooney said: ‘I don’t know how this goes through. There are so many issues involved.
‘It doesn’t matter how much money you have; it’s going to be very tricky to do. So, my opinion on the merger is: I always worry whenever big companies are consolidating because it usually means a lot of people lose their jobs. That’s the truth.’
This comes after Ruffalo was defended by nearly 200 Jewish figures in entertainment.
Actress Hannah Einbinder, who previously defended the actor, led the signatures of Jewish entertainment industry members in an open letter of support for the Marvel actor.
The ER star was asked to respond to Paramount’s criticism of Ruffalo as he replied: ‘I support Mark Ruffalo’s ability to speak freely. I think that that’s ridiculous. We’re not going to ban speech’
Clooney hopping on a water taxi at the Venice Film Festival ahead of him receiving the fest’s highest honor, a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement
Other notable names included: Joel Coen, Todd Haynes, Ilana Glazer, James Schamus, Emma Seligman, Tony Kushner, Jane Schoenbrun and Wallace Shawn.
The new letter, published on Tuesday, defended Ruffalo as it argued against what it said were ‘false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism.’
In his previous statement, Ruffalo had highlighted the links between the Ellison family and Israel, which the open letter reiterated.
It read: ‘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.’
Broad City actress Glazer also released a statement along with her signature that read: ‘Calling Mark Ruffalo antisemitic because he is questioning a massive corporate merger is not only absurd— it’s a dangerous way to shut down legitimate criticism.
‘Mark has consistently spoken out against antisemitism while also standing up for Palestinian rights and dignity for all people. It’s an American’s right to debate media consolidation and the dangers of monopolized corporate power without weaponizing antisemitism to bully people into silence.’
Last week, Einbinder took to social media to defend Ruffalo after Paramount called his merger attack ‘antisemitic.’
The Hacks star made her thoughts clear on Instagram Stories last Monday following Ruffalo’s criticism of Paramount’s jabs at him as ‘appalling and fundamentally dishonest.’
Ruffalo has also been defended by nearly 200 Jewish figures in entertainment
Actress Hannah Einbinder, who previously defended the actor, led the signatures of Jewish entertainment industry members in an open letter of support for the Marvel star
Ruffalo said on Saturday: ‘The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest’
Other notable names included: Joel Coen (above), Todd Haynes, Ilana Glazer, James Schamus, Emma Seligman, Tony Kushner, Jane Schoenbrun and Wallace Shawn
Broad City actress Glazer also released a statement along with her signature that read: ‘Calling Mark Ruffalo antisemitic because he is questioning a massive corporate merger is not only absurd – it’s a dangerous way to shut down legitimate criticism’
In her statement, Einbinder, who is Jewish, said she was ‘so grateful that Mark Ruffalo drew a connection between the Ellisons providing military technology to Israel during a genocide and their unprecedented media takeover.’
She said Ruffalo correctly ‘pointed out that this is a dangerous consolidation of power that could ultimately be used against us.’
The Daily Mail reached out to representatives for Einbinder, Ruffalo and Paramount at the time for further comment.
In her statement, Einbinder said that ‘the idea that [Ruffalo] only said these things because the Ellisons are Jewish is LUDICROUS,’ asking, ‘Is it also antisemitic to point out that Safra Catz, the Oracle executive vice chair who boasted about the “profoundly scary technology” provided to the IDF, also sits on Paramount’s board?
‘Or that Larry Ellison has been buying favor with Trump by donating tens of millions to his political efforts for years? Or that he once offered Netanyahu a lucrative Oracle post?’
The Los Angeles-born actress said that Ruffalo’s words marked ‘criticism of RIGHT WING technofeudalist oligarchs who are in the process of carrying out the largest media acquisition in history,’ adding that ‘people are not too stupid to see these obvious connections.’
Einbinder added: ‘If you want to make it about the Ellisons being Jewish, then you are the one being antisemitic.’
She said that ‘every time Zionists equate criticism of Israel, its genocide, or anyone who supports it to antisemitism, they rob the word of all of its meaning.
‘For those of us who ACTUALLY care about Jewish safety, we want that word to mean something so that when Jews are actually in danger it’s taken seriously.’
Einbinder, who is Jewish, previously said she was ‘so grateful that Mark Ruffalo drew a connection between the Ellisons providing military technology to Israel during a genocide and their unprecedented media takeover’
Ruffalo has been a loud opponent of the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, and his criticism has sparked a public feud with Paramount – whose CEO is David Ellison
Einbinder also said she supports Ruffalo’s comments that the merger had major implications for the entertainment industry as a whole.
‘Opposing this merger is also about fighting for the working class of Hollywood: the crews and other workers that we artists claim to care so much about, who could lose thousands of jobs if it goes through,’ Einbinder said.
She said that Ruffalo was an inspiration for artists in his willingness ‘to speak out for oppressed people everywhere, even when powerful people try to bully us into silence.
Einbinder wrapped up by saying: ‘Visibility is a responsibility. Those of us with a platform need to use our voices before speaking out is outlawed altogether.’
In an extended social media post Saturday, Ruffalo called the company’s remarks ‘appalling and fundamentally dishonest,’ stating that his fault-finding had to do with military contracts and executive actions, not Jewish people.
Ruffalo has been a loud opponent of the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, and his criticism has sparked a public feud with Paramount.
The actor, who wore an ‘ICE Out’ pin at the 2026 Golden Globes in January, used the terms ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ in a previous social media letter criticizing the funding behind the $111 billion business transaction.
A Paramount spokesman swiftly condemned Ruffalo’s rhetoric as invoking antisemitic tropes, further stating that applying words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ to a corporate business deal was a ‘bridge too far,’ according to CNN’s Brian Stelter.
In an extended social media post, Ruffalo called the company’s remarks ‘appalling and fundamentally dishonest’
On Saturday, Ruffalo slammed that statement, writing: ‘The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.
‘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.
‘This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel. To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect.
‘Everything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life,’ Ruffalo added.
On Friday, the Dark Waters star blasted Paramount in a post on Instagram Stories, in which he accused billionaires Ellison, 43, and his father Larry, 82, of ‘powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.’
Ruffalo shared a years-old video of Israeli-American business executive Safra Catz, the former Oracle CEO who is now its executive vice chair of the board of directors.
‘This is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David’s Warner Bros acquisition,’ Ruffalo wrote to his 20.5 million followers.
In Saturday’s lengthy follow-up, Ruffalo railed: ‘This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country.
The actor used the terms ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ in a previous social media letter criticizing the funding behind Paramount’s proposed $111 billion business merger. Above, Ruffalo attends a political event in New York City in 2025
Ellison’s company said that it was ‘a moment to lower the temperature, not raise it,’ as it dressed down Ruffalo’s remarks
‘Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle’s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary.
‘The $111 billion deal would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros., backed in part by foreign money whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully explained to the public.
‘Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven’t given the public a real answer. Until they do, the merger shouldn’t move forward. Now is the time to dive boldly into all these issues, not step back or concede,’ he concluded.
In his previous post, Ruffalo also called Larry Ellison a ‘classic oligarch’ who would own most of what he disparagingly coined ‘Para Bros.’
‘They are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance,’ Ruffalo wrote.
Ruffalo noted that 12 Attorneys General were suing to stop the Paramount-Warner Bros merger.
‘It will be catastrophic for our film industry,’ Ruffalo wrote. ‘Merger [sic] like this are almost always bad for workers, consumers, and the industry they tend to dominate.’
The effort to stop the merger is being led by California, whose film industry has struggled in recent times.
Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros could cost Los Angeles County approximately 4,500 film and television jobs, according to a report published by LA County on Tuesday.
The video of Catz speaking that Ruffalo shared was from the Israeli-American Council National Summit in 2024, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The Paramount chairman and CEO is the son of billionaire technology mogul Larry Ellison, who is a cofounder and executive chairman of the major software company Oracle
‘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 said in his Saturday rebuttal
Ruffalo wrote in his Instagram story: ‘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.’
In the clip, Catz talked about advancing ‘the agenda for the Israeli military’ and mentioned ‘really profoundly scary technology at Oracle.’
‘We wanted to make sure that it was available for the effort,’ she said, referring to the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Paramount’s spokesman turned the argument on Ruffalo: ‘This doesn’t deserve a response in kind – and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.’
The media conglomerate emphasized that it was ‘a moment to lower the temperature, not raise it,’ insisting that it would ‘rather build than further engage in such rhetoric.’
Paramount said that Ruffalo’s remarks ‘simply expose the true motivation of some who have advocated opposition to this transaction,’ referring to its proposed $111 billion merger with Warner Bros.
The company said it was committed ‘to every story, every storyteller, and 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,’ Paramount continued.
Paramount’s statement finished by asking for ‘less rhetoric, more understanding.’
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