Mark Ruffalo Refuses to Back Down

Mark Ruffalo has come under fire once again on social media, days after posting a petition about the Mideast war that led to a backlash.

On October 19, the actor, 55, posted a petition link to X (formerly Twitter) dedicated to ending "child bloodshed" in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The petition was mocked by users, and Ruffalo removed the post a short time later.

Ruffalo posted about the war again on Monday, sharing a data chart titled "Voters Across Party Lines Agree That the U.S. Should Call for a Ceasefire and De-Escalation of Violence in Gaza."

As of October 24, at least 1,400 people had been killed in Israel and over 5,000 in Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel and Israel's subsequent airstrikes, according to Reuters. Israel also stopped food, fuel, electricity and medical supplies from entering Gaza, and United Nations agencies have appealed for increased humanitarian aid to be allowed into the region.

In the graphic shared by Ruffalo, the think tank Data for Progress asked 1,329 potential voters whether they agreed or disagreed with this statement: "The U.S. should call for a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. The U.S. should leverage its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths."

According to the post's statistics, 66 percent of all likely voters either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, including 80 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of third-party voters and 56 percent of Republican voters.

Captioned "You are not alone...don't be afraid to speak up," Ruffalo's post has received over 5 million views so far.

Newsweek reached out to Ruffalo for comment via email.

In the comments, the actor shared links to the website of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, which is dedicated to "justice and equality" for Palestinians, and encouraged followers to call on Congress to facilitate a ceasefire.

Like his previous post on the topic, the graphic brought an uproar from some commenters, with Suzy Shofar writing: "Shame on you."

"You are embarrassing. And you clearly don't understand what is going on," said Dvilnasky.

"I see you're not calling for Hamas to surrender and turn over the hostages, just for Israel to accept the rape and murder of its citizens," commented Bleu Cheque.

"You need to read more," wrote Jay Corwin, while @BurgerOperator said: "This is just weird, bro."

However, some users supported the actor, with Shabab commenting: "This war needs to end today."

"Don't let them scare you again!" said Imi.

"Thank you Mark for standing up for Palestinians," wrote @ArSquared89, while @travellover28 said: "Peace is the best solution."

The Mideast conflict isn't the first time Ruffalo has caused controversy with his opinions about Israel and Palestinians. In 2021, he issued an apology after sharing posts that suggested Israel was committing genocide during an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.