Actor John Cusack threw his support behind fellow Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo over the weekend as Ruffalo pushed back against Paramount's accusations that his criticism of tech giant Oracle invoked "antisemitic tropes."
"Solidarity — well said." Cusack wrote on X in response to Ruffalo’s lengthy defense of his remarks, which centered on Oracle’s ties to the Israeli military and the company’s leadership.
The controversy erupted after Ruffalo criticized Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz, who also sits on Paramount’s board, and reposted a video of her discussing "really profoundly scary technologies" Oracle used to assist the Israeli military following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
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Ruffalo tied his criticism of Oracle to the Ellison family's proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, pointing to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his son, Paramount CEO David Ellison. The actor argued that the deal, which would put CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. under the same family's control, raises concerns about editorial independence, jobs and more.
"These 'really profoundly scary technologies' will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you. 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," the Marvel actor wrote in an Instagram story.
Paramount subsequently issued a statement saying it was "troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked" in what it characterized as a business dispute.
"Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong. They’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe," a company spokesperson added.
Ruffalo fired back Saturday, telling Fox News Digital the accusation that he is antisemitic was "appalling and fundamentally dishonest." He maintained that criticism of the Israeli government, military technology contracts or the executives behind them should not be equated with criticism of Jewish people.
"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," he said.
"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 added.
The potential merger has also drawn legal scrutiny from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general challenging the deal. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed not to close the transaction until five days after a court rules on the merits of the states’ claims or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.
In a statement noted by The Hollywood Reporter, Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk said, "Words matter, and so does the willingness to draw a line when legitimate debate gives way to antisemitic tropes. We commend Paramount for speaking clearly and refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade as political or corporate criticism."
Film critic Christian Toto, the founder and editor of Hollywood in Toto, told Fox News, "I'm guessing Mark would rather John Cusack have stayed silent on the matter!" Toto then pointed to controversial comments that Cusack has made on the situation in the Middle East.
Toto continued, "More importantly, the issue in play is getting more attention now that antisemitism is flaring up in the culture at large and within the Democratic Party. That hasn't bled into Hollywood, Inc., yet, but it might sooner than later. Maybe a good example of that fracture is happening with the Paramount merger fight. Some Hollywood groups and Democrats are requesting a resolution to the matter, while others have dug their heels in, battling the merger at all costs."
He concluded, "This could get ugly, becoming a Blue on Blue battle within La La Land that could cause real damage to careers."
