Actor John Cusack threw his support behind fellow Hollywood star\u00a0Mark Ruffalo\u00a0over the weekend as Ruffalo pushed back against Paramount\u2019s accusations that his criticism of tech giant Oracle invoked \u201cantisemitic tropes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSolidarity \u2014 well said.\u201d Cusack\u00a0wrote on X<\/a>\u00a0in response to Ruffalo\u2019s lengthy defense of his remarks, which centered on Oracle\u2019s ties to the Israeli military and the company\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n The controversy erupted after Ruffalo criticized Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz, who also sits on Paramount\u2019s board, and reposted a video of her discussing \u201creally profoundly scary technologies\u201d Oracle used to assist the Israeli military following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.<\/p>\n Ruffalo tied his criticism of Oracle to the Ellison family\u2019s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, pointing to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his son, Paramount CEO\u00a0David Ellison. The actor argued that the deal, which would put CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. under the same family\u2019s control, raises concerns about editorial independence, jobs and more.<\/p>\n John Cusack at Variety Studio Presented by Google TV held at The Pendry on July 24, 2026 in San Diego, California. Variety via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThese \u2018really profoundly scary technologies\u2019 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,\u201d the Marvel actor wrote in an Instagram story.<\/p>\n Paramount subsequently issued a statement saying it was \u201ctroubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked\u201d in what it characterized as a business dispute.<\/p>\n \u201cWords like \u2018genocide\u2019 and \u2018apartheid,\u2019 applied to a corporate transaction, aren\u2019t just wrong. They\u2019re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe,\u201d a company spokesperson added.<\/p>\n Ruffalo fired back Saturday,\u00a0telling Fox News Digital\u00a0the accusation that he is antisemitic was \u201cappalling and fundamentally dishonest.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Mark Ruffalo attends the American Film Institute (AFI) Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cScrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle\u2019s 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe $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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven\u2019t given the public a real answer. Until they do, the merger shouldn\u2019t move forward. Now is the time to dive boldly into all these issues, not step back or concede,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n John Cusack backed Mark Ruffalo after Paramount accused the Marvel star of using \u201cantisemitic tropes\u201d to criticize a $111B media merger. Getty Images<\/p>\n The potential merger has also drawn legal scrutiny from a coalition of\u00a012 state attorneys general\u00a0challenging 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\u2019 claims or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.<\/p>\n