On this week’s ‘We’re Not Kidding’ Mehdi Hasan sits down with award-winning Hollywood actor and activist Mark Ruffalo. For over two decades, Mark has been one of the most politically courageous actors in Hollywood, having spoken out against the fracking industry, US imperialism, Donald Trump, and the genocide in Gaza. Mark and Mehdi get into all of that, but first… Mehdi nerds out with some ‘Marvel’ movie questions.
The two talk about Mark’s political evolution, from being raised in a household with three different religions to getting involved in the anti-war movement during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. When discussing Trump’s second term and rising fascism here in the US, Mark doesn’t mince words when it comes to the tepid opposition from Democratic party leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.
Finally, Mehdi asks Mark about his years-long advocacy for Palestine and the elaborate “propaganda machine” deployed by Israel and its allies, as Mark is no stranger to being attacked for his pro-Palestine views. Now almost two years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Mark gets deeply emotional when discussing the human cost of the conflict. “I'm a humanist, okay? What's happening there is inhumane,” Mark says. “It's f*cking heartbreaking, man.”
00:00 - Opening montage 1:04 - Intro 3:14 - ‘Task’ on HBO 8:12 - Mark’s history with ‘Marvel’ 14:20 - ‘Marvel rapid-fire questions 20:42 - Mark’s politics 24:09 - Democratic party failures 31:58 - Ritchie Torres 33:25 - Mark’s advocacy for Palestine 38:05 - Filmworkers for Palestine 44:41 - Hollywood censorship 48:43 - Kamala Harris’ election loss 50:16 - Trump 2.0
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