Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO says Mark Ruffalo’s remarks crossed a line

Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk criticised Mark Ruffalo’s Paramount remarks amid the ongoing merger dispute

Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk has criticised actor Mark Ruffalo over comments he made while opposing Paramount’s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.

Berk defended Paramount after the studio accused Ruffalo of using “antisemitic” rhetoric in his criticism of the proposed merger. In a statement, Berk said the company was right to challenge what he described as antisemitic tropes when corporate criticism crosses into prejudice.

Berk specifically objected to Ruffalo’s references to Israel and Oracle, arguing that the issue was unrelated to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction. He described the references as “obsession and demonization” and praised Paramount for addressing the comments publicly.

Ruffalo, an Oscar-nominated actor and outspoken critic of the Paramount deal, had highlighted Oracle’s connections to the Israeli military amid the Israel-Gaza war. He shared a 2024 video featuring former Oracle CEO Safra Catz discussing technologies developed by the company in connection with Israel’s military efforts.

Ruffalo also described the war in Gaza as a “genocide” and referred to an “apartheid system of oppression” in his criticism of Oracle.

Paramount responded by accusing the Marvel actor of invoking antisemitic tropes in a corporate dispute. The studio said terms such as “genocide” and “apartheid” were inappropriate in the context of a business transaction.

Creative Community for Peace, a Hollywood-based pro-Israel advocacy organisation, also called for a boycott of Ruffalo unless he retracts his comments and apologises.

Ruffalo subsequently rejected the antisemitism accusation. In a post on X, he said that criticising the Israeli government, military technology contracts or corporate executives was not equivalent to criticising Jewish people.

The dispute comes as Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. deal continues to generate controversy in Hollywood, with Ruffalo among the prominent figures publicly opposing the transaction.