Paramount condemns Israel boycott by Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, more Hollywood stars

Paramount has denounced a pledge signed by Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone and more than 4,000 other Hollywood talent vowing to boycott Israeli film institutions amid the Middle Eastern country’s military campaign in Gaza.

“Joker” star Joaquin Phoenix and “White Lotus” actress Aimee Lou Wood were among the names on the Sept. 8 pledge condemning Israel for its assault that the Gaza Health Ministry says has killed more than 64,000 people since October 2023.

In a Sept. 12 statement reported by Reuters, Paramount became the first the major studio to address the boycott shared by advocacy group Film Workers for Palestine.

A water tower is seen at the Paramount studios on August 7, 2025 in Los Angeles.

“We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace,” Paramount said. “We need more engagement and communication – not less.”

Responding to Paramount’s statement, Film Workers for Palestine criticized the studio for possibly “intentionally misrepresenting the pledge in an attempt to silence our colleagues in the film industry.”

“Such a move would only shield a genocidal regime from criticism at a time when global outrage is exponentially growing and while meaningful steps towards accountability are being taken by many,” Film Workers for Palestine wrote in a statement shared on social media.

The organization also called out multibillionaire Larry Ellison for an alleged “close relationship with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu” and applauded the thousands of filmmakers that joined in making a “collective moral stand.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Paramount for comment.

“Almost two years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, with seemingly no end in sight, a rapidly growing number of filmmakers are recognising that withdrawing their participation from an evil system, to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr, is an essential duty they can no longer ignore,” the group added. “Should Israeli film institutions wish to continue working with pledge signatories, their choice is clear: end complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, and endorse the full rights of the Palestinian people under international law.”

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paramount condemns boycott of Israeli projects by 4,000 filmmakers