$111 billion, the stated value of the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery combination, is now the axis of a public antisemitism dispute involving actor Mark Ruffalo. The Brigade, a group of nearly 1,000 entertainment industry members, issued a statement Tuesday accusing Ruffalo of invoking tropes about Jewish wealth and power while attacking Paramount leadership over the deal. Paramount spokesperson Melissa Zukerman said Thursday the company stands by the statement.
The accusation traces to an August video Ruffalo shared featuring Safra Catz, Oracle's executive vice chair and a Paramount board member, discussing technology Oracle supplied to assist Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Ruffalo connected Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, to the financing behind the acquisition. That linkage, running from a defense-technology contract to a media merger's ownership structure, became the contested terrain.
The Brigade's open statement, signed by producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender, Teddy Schwarzman, Ram Bergman, Matti Leshem, Anthony Bregman, Micah Green and Lynn Harris among others, argued that singling out Jewish executives while invoking Israel as a frame imported a conspiracy narrative into a corporate debate. "This is not commentary on a merger. It is not a criticism of a government. It is simple antisemitism," the group told The Hollywood Reporter.
Ruffalo rejected the charge in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, arguing that criticizing Israeli government decisions or military contracting is distinct from criticizing Jewish people as a group. The Simon Wiesenthal Center sided with Paramount. John Cusack backed Ruffalo publicly. Hannah Einbinder, of the series "Hacks," called the allegation ludicrous. Elizabeth Barcohana, Jewish engagement chair for the California Republican Party, praised The Brigade while describing Ruffalo's merger opposition as a poor fit given his public profile.
The deal's contested timeline
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block the merger on antitrust grounds. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery agreed not to close until five days after a court ruling on the merits or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. If it clears, CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. studio assets would sit alongside Paramount's properties under the Ellison family's control, with an antisemitism dispute now layered onto an antitrust fight.