Oscar-winning filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan has publicly defended actor Mark Ruffalo against accusations of antisemitism, wading into a bitter row tied to the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The dispute erupted after Ruffalo posted on Instagram criticising the Ellison family's links to Israel's military campaign in Gaza, prompting Paramount to accuse him of invoking antisemitic tropes, a claim Lonergan dismisses as a "cynical" deflection from the substance of Ruffalo's argument.

Ruffalo, a longtime environmental and anti-war campaigner who has also opposed the Paramount-Warner merger, told his 20.6 million followers that Larry Ellison's Oracle empire was helping fund Israel's "genocide" and "apartheid system" in Gaza, citing a clip of former Oracle chief Safra Catz discussing the firm's military technology. Paramount branded the remarks a "bridge too far," and groups including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and The Brigade condemned him, while Hannah Einbinder and Jane Fonda came to his defence. Lonergan, a longtime friend and collaborator of Ruffalo's who says he disagrees with many of the actor's views on the Middle East, argued the antisemitism charge was being used to avoid engaging with Ruffalo's actual criticisms.