John Cusack has publicly backed fellow actor Mark Ruffalo after Paramount accused Ruffalo of using "antisemitic tropes" in his criticism of the studio's proposed $111 billion takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery.
Cusack, 60, took to X to retweet Ruffalo's response to the accusation, calling it "well said."
Ruffalo is best known for playing Bruce Banner, the Hulk, in Marvel's Avengers franchise, and has received multiple Academy Award nominations. Cusack's film credits include Con Air, High Fidelity and Being John Malkovich.
Ruffalo, 58, first criticized the deal in a post on Instagram Stories on Friday, accusing Paramount chief executive David Ellison, 43, and his father Larry Ellison, 82, of "powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world."
Ruffalo Targets the Ellisons Over Oracle
Larry Ellison co-founded the software company Oracle and serves as its executive chairman. Oracle has provided technological assistance to Israel during its military campaign in Gaza.
Ruffalo shared a 2024 video of Safra Catz, the Israeli-American businesswoman who previously served as Oracle's chief executive and is now executive vice chair of its 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.
He went on to say the merger had "real consequences for real people, and for the entire country," adding: "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."
Ruffalo argued 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."
In the same post, Ruffalo called Larry Ellison a "classic oligarch" who would come to own most of what he called "Para Bros," and said the Ellisons "are crushing workers and consolidating the wealth of the world for their own power and concentrated dominance."
He also noted that 12 attorneys general were suing to block the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger, writing that it "will be catastrophic for our film industry" and that mergers "like this are almost always bad for workers, consumers, and the industry they tend to dominate."
Paramount Accuses Ruffalo of Antisemitism
A Paramount spokesman condemned Ruffalo's comments, saying they invoked antisemitic tropes and that applying words like "genocide" and "apartheid" to a corporate business deal was a "bridge too far," according to CNN's Brian Stelter.
Ruffalo hit back at the studio on Saturday, writing that the accusation he was antisemitic was "appalling and fundamentally dishonest." He 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."
David Ellison is chairman and chief executive of Paramount. His father Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle alongside his role as the company's executive chairman.
Ruffalo said the "critical and necessary dialogue" around the merger was "dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel," insisting his 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.
Merger Faces Scrutiny From Lawmakers
Ruffalo said lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle had called for a serious national security review of the deal, and that regulators had not yet 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 wrote.
The push to block the merger is being led by California, whose film industry has struggled in recent years. A report published by Los Angeles County estimated that the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger could cost the county approximately 4,500 film and television jobs.
