What would you do if you met one of the most powerful figures of the most corrupt company on earth ?
Would you speak to them ? Would you call them out ?
When Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo, who is best known for playing the Hulk, saw his chance, he took full advantage.
Ruffalo was in the CBS studio while working on the film Spotlight when he noticed Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s CEO, on screen in the green room (1).
As it turns out, the CEO was also at CBS.
As he watched, Ruffalo felt that Grant was giving “slippery non-answer[s] to every question he was asked.”
In his own words, he watched “[the] guy who is responsible for so much misery and sickness throughout the world slime his way through his interview.”
Ruffalo felt uncomfortable watching the interview unfold and knew he couldn’t hold his tongue.
After the interview, just as Grant entered the green room to celebrate the interview with his publicist, Ruffalo looked him in the eye and told him “You are wrong. You are engaged in monopolizing food. You are poisoning people. You are killing small farms. You are killing bees. What you are doing is dead wrong.”
Grant showed his surprise at the comment, but calmly replied: “Well, what I think we are doing is good.”
“I am sure you do,” Ruffalo told him.
In his written account of the encounter, which can be found here, Ruffalo explains that he believes Grant – and other high-earning and powerful people become jaded as they rake in their cash. Morality is the first thing to go out the door when the money comes in.
Ruffalo later wrote the following message for Grant:
“Hugh, it’s not your messaging that makes you and your company horrible. It’s the horrible stuff you guys do that makes you and your company horrible. People don’t walk around making horrible stories up about good companies because they got nothing else better to do with their time. People like you and your company are horrible because … you are horrible.”
“No matter how much jumping around you do on morning shows (where no one can really nail you down for the horrible stuff you do), you will still always be horrible and people will always greet you the way I did, when you go around trying to cover up the fact that you are horrible” he wrote.
He also went on to list multiple lawsuits in which Monsanto sued small farmers to protect their seed patents, The agriculture giant has also settled suits for poisoning an entire town and causing birth defects and cancers. The number of suits Monsanto hasn’t settled is believed to be even larger.
He also urged his readers to watch the following clip and find out more about Monsanto’s true nature.
It’s not the first time Ruffalo has spoken out. In fact, the normally shy actor has gone on the record as a self-proclaimed activist. Just watch him discuss with Bill Maher.
In light of all this discussion about Monsanto’s horrific human right’s violations and outright disturbing practices, why do we still turn a blind eye and purchase their products?
Although you’ll likely never meet Hugh Grant face-to-face, you can still send him a message by refusing to spend your dollars on his company’s products.