Amid reports that Paramount is in “advanced talks” to settle the antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general led by California against the company’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Mark Ruffalo is urging Rob Bonta to “not cave.”
“Don’t you dare @AGRobBonta, do not cave. 5,670 film makers put their necks on the line for you to fight this merger. Another 75,000+ and counting have signed to tell you not to concede in just 3 weeks,” the actor wrote on X. “You work for the people — the very people who will be hurt if you let this lousy deal filled with empty promises go forward.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Paramount and the states are closing in on a deal to settle the lawsuit.
Ruffalo included a link to sign a petition in support of the merger being blocked. “Please sign to send a message to the AG’s and Paramount. Reject the deal. The people don’t want it!” he added.
The Task star has been very candid about his opposition to the merger; he testified against the merger to a Senate hearing and signed an open letter alongside many actors also against Paramount’s potential takeover of Warner Bros.
In an August Instagram post, he noted Oracle’s (founded by Larry Ellison, the father to David Ellison) ties to the Israeli military, sharing a clip of former Oracle chief Safra Catz talking about Oracle’s tech at the Israeli-American Council National Summit in 2024 as it related to Israel’s war effort in Gaza. In the video, the executive spoke about “profoundly scary technologies” the company built that could be deployed. Ruffalo detailed the war as a “genocide” that “was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”
A spokesperson for Paramount shared a statement in response to Ruffalo, calling his remarks “antisemitic.”
“We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute,” the statement read in part. “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 Avengers actor refuted the statement made by a Paramount rep, writing on X, “The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”
On July 13, the states filed a lawsuit alleging that the merger would combine two of Hollywood’s top five studios, which would lead to higher prices, less movies in theaters and a decrease in the variety and quality of content. “There is no debate here: This merger will snuff out competition, drive up prices, diminish content quality, and produce fewer movies and shows each year,” said California Attorney General Bonta at a press conference at the time.
The filing of the suit led to a temporary pause on the merger, ruled by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on July 20; that temporary restraining order was subsequently extended on July 23. One day later, Paramount agreed to hold off on the acquisition until the court makes a decision of whether or not the deal violates antitrust laws.