Jane Fonda and her Committee for the First Amendment organization are defending Mark Ruffalo after he spoke out against the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger.
“Mark Ruffalo has a First Amendment right to speak out about politics, powerful corporations and this dangerous merger — full stop,” Fonda, 88, said in a statement via Instagram on Tuesday, August 25. “Calling his criticism antisemitic is a smear to delegitimize criticism of the merger and to distract from the question Paramount would rather not answer: should one company be allowed to accumulate this much power over our movies, television and news?”
The 9 to 5 actress continued, “The original Committee for the First Amendment was founded to stand against blacklisting and intimidation of people for their political beliefs. We will not stand by while the government or its allies revive those tactics to bully activists into silence today.”
Ruffalo, 58, has been a vocal opponent of Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery since the deal was announced in February.
Paramount Skydance chairman David Ellison is the son of Oracle cofounder and prominent President Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison. (David, 43, and Larry, 82, became co-owners of Paramount Skydance following a 2025 merger.)
Ruffalo recently condemned a clip of Safra Catz — Oracle’s executive vice chair and a Paramount board member — speaking about “profoundly scary technologies” that Oracle shared with the Israeli government following the October 7 terror attacks in 2023.
Paramount Skydance responded to Ruffalo by invoking allegations that the actor could be antisemitic.
“We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement on August 21. “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. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”
The company continued, “We understand people feel strongly about this merger and are hopeful and expect that it will be judged based on the legal merits, not underlying bias. We’re asking for the same good faith we’re extending: less rhetoric, more understanding. Paramount’s future is being written for everyone who wants to make and watch great stories.”
Ruffalo strongly rejected accusations that he is “antisemitic” for opposing Paramount Skydance’s executives’ ties to the Israeli government.
In a statement shared via X on August 22, Ruffalo said, “The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. 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. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.”
He continued, “To be clear, my 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.”
Jane Fonda comes from a family of actors, but she quickly made a name for herself and became an icon in her own right. Born in 1937 to Frances Ford Seymour and movie legend Henry Fonda, Jane became interested in acting as a teen after starring alongside her dad in a charity performance in Nebraska. […]
Fonda isn’t the first Hollywood actor to defend Ruffalo. John Cusack expressed support for his friend when he wrote via X, “Solidarity — well said.”
Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen also expressed support for Ruffalo in a statement shared via the Committee for the First Amendment.
“I find it deeply troubling to see false accusations of antisemitism used to silence legitimate political criticism in this country,” he wrote. “Antisemitism is real and dangerous, which is precisely why the charge should never be used as a cudgel against people whose political views you dislike, in this case as dedicated a crusader for democracy as Mark, whom we are proud to have as a Committee member and to be in this fight with.”
