‘The Office’ Star Zach Woods Comes to Mark Ruffalo’s Defense amid Antisemitism Allegations

Zach Woods is jokingly coming to Mark Ruffalo’s defense after the Marvel star was accused of antisemitism.

The “The Office” actor shared a video on Instagram in which he pretended to explain how he personally discovered that Ruffalo was supposedly antisemitic. The story was clearly meant as satire, with Woods using a series of ridiculous movie pitches to make the point that the accusations against Ruffalo should not be taken at face value.

Woods began by saying, “Mark Ruffalo is actually antisemitic and I know this from personal experience.” He then claimed that he once met with Ruffalo to pitch him an idea called “Orthodox Hulk.”

According to Woods’ fictional story, the movie would have featured Ruffalo’s Hulk as an Orthodox Jewish character who does not work on Saturdays and has a brother who is a cardiologist.

Woods continued the joke by claiming he pitched Ruffalo another idea involving a Jewish version of Black Panther, followed by an “Iron Man” story about a Jewish character who works as an ironer and comes from the Lower East Side.

The joke eventually ended with Woods pretending that Ruffalo rejected all three ideas because of his supposed antisemitism. Woods then completely undercut the accusation by praising Ruffalo.

“And so, sure Mark Ruffalo advocates tirelessly on behalf of the disenfranchised and the defenseless. Sure, he always stands up for the underdog and is a paragon of decency in a dark world,” Woods said.

He then added, “But, I gave him three golden ideas and the only reason he would have said no to them is his antisemitism. So, I rest my case.”

The video was Woods’ tongue-in-cheek response to the controversy surrounding Ruffalo. The outlet also said it contacted representatives for both actors but did not immediately receive a response.

The controversy began after Ruffalo criticized Oracle over its reported connection to the Israeli military. According to Variety, Ruffalo criticized Oracle executive vice chair Safra Catz over technology provided to the Israeli government and described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and part of an apartheid system.

Paramount later accused Ruffalo of using antisemitic tropes. In a statement reported by Variety on August 21, the company said it was troubled by what it described as antisemitic language being used during what it viewed as a business dispute.

Ruffalo strongly rejected that accusation the following day. In a statement shared on social media, he wrote, “The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”

He also argued that criticizing Israeli government actions, a military technology contract, or business executives is not the same as attacking Jewish people.

Ruffalo added that his views come from his own political beliefs and said he has “deep love and respect” for Jewish people. He also pointed to Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have played an important role throughout his life.

Woods’ video does not appear to be a serious attempt to debate the political dispute itself. Instead, the actor used humor to show his support for Ruffalo while mocking the idea that the Marvel star’s comments automatically prove prejudice against Jewish people.

The exchange comes as Ruffalo continues to face criticism over his comments, while supporters argue that his statements were directed at governments, companies, and political actions rather than Jewish people as a group.

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