Jesse Eisenberg Doesn't Want to Be 'Associated' with Mark Zuckerberg AfterSocial Network: He's Doing 'Problematic' Things

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Jesse Eisenberg; and Mark Zuckerberg.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage; SHAWN THEW/POOL/AFP via Getty

Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage; SHAWN THEW/POOL/AFP via Getty

Jesse Eisenbergis not interested in being associated withMark Zuckerbergforever.Eisenberg, 41, famously portrayed Facebook and Meta cofounder Zuckerberg, 40, in a star-making turn with 2010’sThe Social Network.During an interview withBBC Radio 4released on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the actor and filmmaker spoke out against Zuckerberg as he promoted hisOscar-nominatedmovieA Real Pain.“I haven’t been following his life trajectory, partly because I don’t want to think of myself as associated with somebody like that,” Eisenberg said in an interview clip the BBC shared on its website. “It’s not like I played a great golfer or something and now I want people to think I’m a great golfer — it’s like this guy that is doing things that are problematic, taking away fact-checking and safety concerns. Making people who are already threatened in this world more threatened.““I’m concerned just as a person who reads a newspaper,” he added, after he was asked whether Meta’s recent editorial decisions “concerned” him. The company recently issuedsweeping and controversial changesto its content moderation protocols andcommunity standardsacross Facebook and Instagram; Zuckerberg alsoattended Donald Trump’s inaugurationas U.S. president on Jan. 20, shortly before his company agreed topay $25 million to settle Trump’s 2021 lawsuitover his previous suspension from its platforms following theJan. 6, 2021 Capitol riotsin Washington, D.C.From Left: Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg inThe Social Network.Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock"I don’t think like about, ‘Oh I played the guy in the movie.’ It’s just I’m a human being and you read these things and these people have billions upon billions of dollars, more money than any human person has ever amassed,” Eisenberg noted. “What are they doing with it? Oh, they’re doing it to curry favor with people who’s preaching hateful [things]?“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Zuckerberg is the world’s third most wealthy person. According toForbes, he stands only behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who also appeared at Trump’s inauguration after making significant contributions to the the president’s inaugural fund. The Meta chairman also owns a bunker in Hawaii that reportedly spans 5,000 square feet, which Zuckerbergdownplayed as “a little shelter"during a December 2024 interview with CNN.From Left: Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg inThe Social Network.Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock"So to me, that’s what I think of,” Eisenberg added of his feelings toward Zuckerberg, more than 14 years afterThe Social Networkreleased. “But I think of that not as a person who played [him] in a movie, I think of it as somebody who ismarried to a womanwho teaches disability justice in New York and lives for her students are going to get a little harder this year.“WhileThe Social NetworkdirectorDavid Fincherand its screenwriterAaron Sorkinhave shared over the years that they’ve discussed options for a potential sequel, Fincher most recently described the notion as “a can of worms” in a 2023 interview.

Jesse Eisenbergis not interested in being associated withMark Zuckerbergforever.

Eisenberg, 41, famously portrayed Facebook and Meta cofounder Zuckerberg, 40, in a star-making turn with 2010’sThe Social Network.During an interview withBBC Radio 4released on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the actor and filmmaker spoke out against Zuckerberg as he promoted hisOscar-nominatedmovieA Real Pain.

“I haven’t been following his life trajectory, partly because I don’t want to think of myself as associated with somebody like that,” Eisenberg said in an interview clip the BBC shared on its website. “It’s not like I played a great golfer or something and now I want people to think I’m a great golfer — it’s like this guy that is doing things that are problematic, taking away fact-checking and safety concerns. Making people who are already threatened in this world more threatened.”

“I’m concerned just as a person who reads a newspaper,” he added, after he was asked whether Meta’s recent editorial decisions “concerned” him. The company recently issuedsweeping and controversial changesto its content moderation protocols andcommunity standardsacross Facebook and Instagram; Zuckerberg alsoattended Donald Trump’s inaugurationas U.S. president on Jan. 20, shortly before his company agreed topay $25 million to settle Trump’s 2021 lawsuitover his previous suspension from its platforms following theJan. 6, 2021 Capitol riotsin Washington, D.C.

From Left: Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg inThe Social Network.Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

“I don’t think like about, ‘Oh I played the guy in the movie.’ It’s just I’m a human being and you read these things and these people have billions upon billions of dollars, more money than any human person has ever amassed,” Eisenberg noted. “What are they doing with it? Oh, they’re doing it to curry favor with people who’s preaching hateful [things]?”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Zuckerberg is the world’s third most wealthy person. According toForbes, he stands only behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who also appeared at Trump’s inauguration after making significant contributions to the the president’s inaugural fund. The Meta chairman also owns a bunker in Hawaii that reportedly spans 5,000 square feet, which Zuckerbergdownplayed as “a little shelter"during a December 2024 interview with CNN.

From Left: Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg inThe Social Network.Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

“So to me, that’s what I think of,” Eisenberg added of his feelings toward Zuckerberg, more than 14 years afterThe Social Networkreleased. “But I think of that not as a person who played [him] in a movie, I think of it as somebody who ismarried to a womanwho teaches disability justice in New York and lives for her students are going to get a little harder this year.“WhileThe Social NetworkdirectorDavid Fincherand its screenwriterAaron Sorkinhave shared over the years that they’ve discussed options for a potential sequel, Fincher most recently described the notion as “a can of worms” in a 2023 interview.

source: people.com