Mark Ruffalo isn’t holding back after a federal judge cleared the way for Hollywood’s biggest merger. The actor slammed the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal as a threat to creativity, jobs, and free speech in the industry.
Mark Ruffalo raises concerns about Hollywood’s future amid Paramount-Warner Bros. merger
Mark Ruffalo condemned the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger after a federal judge approved the deal’s settlement on Wednesday.
The actor posted a statement on Threads calling the $110 billion acquisition a threat to creative freedom and employment in Hollywood. The two-time Emmy winner and HBO regular described the outcome as “incredibly disappointing” for the hundreds of thousands who fought to stop it.
Ruffalo wrote on Threads that the merger “will stifle creativity, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs.” He added that it “is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved.” He also insisted the grassroots movement against the deal would not fade away.
U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved the settlement between Paramount, Warner Bros. and 12 states that had sued to block the merger. The five-year agreement requires Paramount to commit to 30 theatrical releases per year in the U.S. It also includes a five-member panel to safeguard the editorial independence of CNN and CBS.
Ruffalo cited 5,670 filmmakers and more than 75,000 petition signers who opposed the deal. He had earlier urged California Attorney General Rob Bonta not to accept any settlement. The Block the Merger Coalition also filed an amicus brief calling the consent decree “toothless.”
Twelve state attorneys general sued over competition concerns surrounding the deal. California’s attorney general secured Paramount’s promise to increase domestic film production by $1.5 billion over five years. The Writers Guild of America, which had filed its own lawsuit, also settled separately last week.
Paramount tentatively plans to close the merger as early as next week.
