Mark Ruffalo‘s calendar just opened up a bit … ’cause a conference he was supposed to speak at just canceled his appearance, and his support for Palestine seems to be the key.
The actor was all set to speak at MTMP — a conference for lawyers and their paralegals to discuss the ins and outs of class action lawsuits, etc. The conference is taking place in early April, but now … it appears Ruffalo won’t be there, ’cause they’re nixing him from the lineup.
The event’s organizers sent out a statement to the attendees this week saying Mark had been invited to speak at the conference after playing an environmental activist/attorney in the movie “Dark Waters” back in 2019 — which touched on a lot of the things they already do in the real world … so they wanted to have him show up and speak to the same issues.
Ruffalo — an environmental activist himself — was set to be a big-time guest for the conference, but the event said this was before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 … and more importantly, before Ruffalo’s very public support of Palestine, especially at the Oscars.
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ICYMI … Mark spoke with reporters at the Oscars and showed visible excitement while heading in over a Palestinian protest that delayed him. He also donned a pin representing Artists Call for Ceasefire Now … so yeah, he was leaning into his pro-Palestine position.
It seems Ruffalo’s stance is too controversial for the MTMP conference … because organizers say they didn’t want the event to be overshadowed by the war in the Middle East, and by Mark as well. Instead, they say they’re canceling Ruffalo’s appearance — despite possibly losing their speaking fee in the process — and asked the attendees not to boycott the event.
Ruffalo’s been an outspoken advocate for a number of causes over the years, and that hasn’t stopped since the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7 or the subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel.
Back in November, Ruffalo called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for referring to Palestinians in Gaza as “collateral damage” while also sharing a petition to end “child bloodshed” in the region the month before.
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On its face, it seems not everyone who was planning to go to MTMP was happy with his recent comments … and, it looks like it’s affecting gigs of his, including this one.
Ruffalo’s rep declined to comment.
