Paramount has denounced the pledge signed by Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone and more than 4,000 other Hollywood talents who vow to boycott Israeli film projects.
Mark Ruffalo and Olivia Colman lead Israeli film Hollywood boycott
More than 1,300 film industry experts, including Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebili, Mark Ruffalo and Tilda Swinton, have committed to boycotting Israeli film institutions.
No Brands – Entertainment
Paramount has condemned the pledges signed by Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone and more than 4,000 Hollywood talents who swear to boycott the Israeli film agency amid the Middle Eastern country’s military operations in Gaza.
“Joker” star Joaquin Phoenix and “White Lotus” actress Amy Lou Wood were among the names of the September 8 pledges that have denounced Israel for attacks that the Gaza Health Ministry said it had killed more than 64,000 people since October 2023.
In a September 12 statement reported by Reuters, Paramount has become the leading studio in dealing with boycotts shared by Palestinian advocacy group, Film Workers.
“We disagree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silence of individual creative artists based on their nationality does not allow us to better understand or advance the causes of peace,” Paramount said. “We need more engagement and communication — not less.”
In response to Paramount’s statement, Palestinian film workers criticized the studio for “deliberately misrepresenting their pledge to silence colleagues in the film industry.”
“This move will only be massacred from criticism when global rage is growing exponentially, and while many people have taken meaningful steps towards accountability, they will only protect them from criticism,” the Palestinian film worker wrote in a statement shared on social media.
The organization also called for the hefty Larry Ellison, who is allegedly “close relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” and praised the thousands of filmmakers who joined in creating a “collective moral position.”
USA Today contacted Paramount for comment.
“Nearly two years after Israeli genocide in Gaza, it appears to be endless, but the rapidly increasing number of filmmakers recognize that it is an essential duty that cannot be ignored to paraphrase Martin Luther King JR to withdraw participation from the evil system,” the group added. “If Israeli film institutions want to continue working with the pledge signatories, their choice is clear: end the Israeli genocide and apartheid accomplices and support the full rights of the Palestinians under international law.”
Contributions: USA Today, Anna Kaufman
