Mark Ruffalo Reportedly Has Not Forgiven Gavin Newsom for Backing the Paramount-WBD Merger; Could Be a 2028 Problem for Potential POTUS Rival

Gavin Newsom and Mark Ruffalo have not patched things up since David Ellison's Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger was approved and completed earlier this month. The deep rift between former allies could lead to trouble for the former California governor, as Newsom eyes a much-anticipated White House bid in 2028. "Ruffalo […]

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Gavin Newsom and Mark Ruffalo haven't patched things up since David Ellison's merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery was approved and completed earlier this month. A deep rift between the one-time comrades could hurt the outgoing California governor as Newsom mulls a highly anticipated bid for the White House in 2028.

"Ruffalo has a lot of influence on (Democrat) operatives who are fighting the Ellisons," a Hollywood political operative told Deadline on Wednesday. "Targeting Newsom as a billionaire-friendly candidate hurts him, and puts him out of touch." RELATED NEWS 'Street Fighter' With $70M Global Opening, 'Demons' First Paramount, Warner Bros. Pictures Open After Merger - News Preview Donald Trump to appeal judge's ruling overturning White House ban on CNN, Politico and MS

A week after Skydance officially became one of the biggest acts in town under the management of Ellison and Yonne Krause, the increasingly influential Ruffalo took to social media today to slam the proudly moderate Newsom. Watch on Deadline

Reacting to the governor's limited resistance to the popular Proposition 40, the so-called billionaire tax on next month's ballot, the Marvel vet wrote: "Once again. Just like the Paramount merger, Gavin Newsom is doing what he always does. Selling out the working class. The people for the billionaires over and over again. Not only that, but he's approving a bill that makes it impossible to tax the rich at all."

One more time. Just like the Paramount merger, Gavin Newsom does what he always does. Time and time again it sells out working class people for billionaires. Not only that, but he approves a bill that would make it impossible to tax the rich at all.

In addition to opposing Prop. 40, which has progressive support, Newsom recently ran for Prop. 42. Also on the midterm ballot, the measure, sponsored by Google founder Sergey Brin and a group of other anti-Prop 40 California investors, would "ban any new state taxes" on personal property. On the off chance that Prop 40 passes, Prop 42 will also effectively nullify other measures by preventing any new retroactive taxes, just as 40 does.

The stance has seen Newsom warn that passage of Prop. 40 could see an exodus of the super-rich from California, which has been derided by Democrats.

In a video that went viral, Rep. Ro Khanna insisted that appeasing donors and tech lords was "the only reason" Newsom opposed Prop. 40. "You can't be anti-Trump and then do the bidding of Trump's donors," Khanna said, pointing the former Newsom anchors to Ep 40.

"Mamdani has shown us, the return of Trump, the wars...everything has changed," said one industry insider who has been a longtime donor to Democrats nationally. "Clinton's 1992 playbook won't work in 2028. Democrats are radicalized. They want real change, like Republicans in 2016."

Newsom has not officially announced his candidacy for the presidency and has said that he will make a decision after the midterm elections. Still, from bashing Trump, traveling to key swing states and trying to make sure Kamala Harris doesn't enter the race, the governor has made it abundantly clear what's next for him.

The governor's office did not respond to a Deadline request for comment on Ruffalo's comments today.

Ruffalo railed against the Para-WBD merger last year and was one of the loudest voices until the final days before a settlement was reached in the state attorney general's antitrust suit against the Ellisons.

After the deal was made public, Ruffalo called the Trump-approved merger "a bad deal for this country." In the process, Ruffalo responded by being accused of being anti-Semitic by some and defended by other A-listers. However, in one of the surest signs of how marketable the industry is, the Emmy winner will return to Skydance-owned HBO in 2027 for a second season of acclaimed crime drama Task.

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