Actor John Cusack has publicly supported fellow actor Mark Ruffalo, who is facing accusations of invoking "antisemitic tropes" from Paramount over his criticism of tech company Oracle.
Ruffalo had criticized Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz, who also serves on Paramount's board, and reposted a video detailing Oracle's use of technologies to assist the Israeli military. Ruffalo linked his concerns about Oracle to the proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by the Ellison family, which would place CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. under their control. He expressed worries about editorial independence, job security, and the potential for Oracle's technologies to be integrated into a large media conglomerate.
Paramount responded to Ruffalo's statements by expressing concern that "antisemitic tropes are invoked" and stated that applying terms like "genocide" and "apartheid" to a corporate transaction was inappropriate and devalued real suffering.
Ruffalo refuted the antisemitism claim, calling it "appalling and fundamentally dishonest." He maintained that criticizing the Israeli government, its military technology contracts, or its executives should not be conflated with criticism of Jewish people. Ruffalo argued that scrutiny of the Ellisons' business, including Oracle's reliance on data and surveillance technology, and the potential impact on editorial freedom and livelihoods, is necessary.
The proposed acquisition has also drawn legal challenges from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to delay the transaction's closure until five days after a court ruling on the states' claims or until June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center commended Paramount for addressing what they described as the use of antisemitic tropes, while film critic Christian Toto suggested that Cusack's intervention might draw more attention to the controversy and noted a broader trend of rising antisemitism potentially fracturing political and cultural alliances within Hollywood and the Democratic Party.