People Are Pissed Mark Ruffalo Was Answering Questions About DAPL

Dakota Access Pipeline protestors won a huge victory on Sunday night after the Army announced that it would not be approving permits for further building of the proposed pipeline that would have gone through scared Native American burial grounds in North Dakota. But for some, the win was soured a bit on Tuesday when Mark Ruffalo took it upon himself to answer questions about DAPL on Tumblr during an answer time (the site’s own version of a Reddit AMA). It’s a case where the celebrity probably should have just stayed in his lane.

It’s not like the Avengers actor has zero connection to the subject. Earlier this fall Ruffalo and a few other actors showed up in North Dakota to show their support for the Standing Rock tribe where he stayed for three days. Ruffalo’s an outspoken activist who appeared on CNN to speak out about the pipeline. He’s also the co-founder of the Solutions Project, a non-profit focused on clean and renewable energy sources. But people were pissed, and rightfully so, that someone from the actual tribe or who spent a more considerable amount of time at the grounds wasn’t the one answering people’s questions. It only seems fair that someone who has a more substantive connection to the #NoDAPL movement had the spotlight.

People weren’t interested in hearing Ruffalo’s thoughts.

Some even told Ruffalo directly how they felt about the situation.

Ruffalo had a pretty lackluster response to the criticism. “You are right there are lots of great Native people you can reach out to and websites that can illuminate this issue from the Native perspective.” Thanks Mark.