Mark Ruffalo tried to recruit ADL CEO to help him apologize for ‘antisemitic’ Paramount rant — but was snubbed

Call it a Hollywood mea culpa that wound up in turnaround.

Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that Mark Ruffalo was looking to apologize for a pair of recent social media posts that cast Larry Ellison as a Lex Luther-esque billionaire oppressing Gazans and drew the condemnation of a broad swath of Jewish groups including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League. 

Over the past week, States United Democracy Center co-founder Norm Eisen was working closely with the Marvel star on how to thread the needle of signaling contrition about offending Jews, while remaining firm in his opposition to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and (separately) Israel’s military response in Gaza. 

Mark Ruffalo enlisted States United Democracy Center co-founder Norm Eisen over the last week as looked to apologize. Gent Shkullaku/ZUMA / SplashNews.com
Ruffalo has been trying to thread the needle between signaling contrition about offending Jews, while remaining firm in his opposition to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Getty Images for HBO

Insider say Ruffalo asked Eisen to enlist ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who had called Ruffalo’s two posts “cynical and sickening.” (Eisen and Greenblatt had both worked in the Obama administration and are said to be friends.)

One source says Greenblatt rebuffed his old pal Eisen because he wasn’t “interested in laundering Mark Ruffalo‘s reputation.” 

Another source says the ADL chief “couldn’t help” the four-time Oscar nominee, prompting Eisen to pivot to an open letter defending Ruffalo that hit Tuesday. 

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt rebuffed Eisen’s plea to help Ruffalo. Getty Images for TIME
Greenblatt wasn’t “interested in laundering Mark Ruffalo‘s reputation.”  Getty Images for SiriusXM

The letter, first published in Variety, was signed by 180 “Jewish artists, writers, creative professionals, faith leaders and thinkers.” 

We hear Eisen wrangled the academic and non-Hollywood types — who make up a large chunk of the list. Ultimately, the industry signatories included Joel Coen, Todd Haynes, James Schamus, Tony Kushner and Hannah Einbender. (The “Hacks” star had already defended Ruffalo on social media.)

There’s little argument that Ruffalo’s reputation took a ding when several entities, including Paramount and the industry-heavy Creative Community for Peace, branded his posts “antisemitic.” The CCFP even called for the actor to be de-platformed in an unprecedented step for the group. (The Ruffalo missives and subsequent reaction caused such a stir that they managed to drown out online outrage about Mel Gibson mocking a sign language interpreter.)

Joel Cohen was among the 170 signatories of the letter that defended Ruffalo. Getty Images
Hannah Einbinder, who was also among the signees, had previously backed Ruffalo. Getty Images

While Ruffalo’s posts appeared to conflate the merger with “genocide” in the Middle East, some of those who are opposed to Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warners seemed unfazed by the uproar. 

“If Mark Ruffalo was struck by lightning tomorrow or proven to be a paid agent of Hamas and run out of the country, none of that would change how I feel about the merger,” says one who signed the Block the Merger petition in April.

Eisen and a rep for Ruffalo declined comment. An ADL rep said Greenblatt is traveling internationally and is unreachable. 

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