Mel Gibson is a veteran of Hollywood. He has given hits like Braveheart, Mad Max, The Patriot, and more. But nowadays he is known more for his off-screen antics. For more than a decade Gibson has found himself embroiled in one controversy after another. He was accused of allegedly physically abusing his then-girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Oksana Grigorieva.
Consequently, he was given the cold shoulder by the industry. But thanks to a heartfelt speech by Robert Downey Jr. at the 25th Annual American Cinematheque Award Ceremony, where he urged everyone to give the actor another chance, Gibson got more projects. But that wasn’t the end of the debacles following him. As per Winona Ryder, the actor insulted her Jewish heritage.
Mel Gibson Humiliated Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder in a 2020 Sunday Times interview claimed that Mel Gibson had made disparaging remarks about her Jewish heritage as well as the sexuality of one of her friends. She said:
“We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends, and Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar, and we’re all talking and he said to my friend, who’s gay, ‘Oh wait, am I gonna get Aids? And then something came up about Jews, and he said, ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?'”
The Stranger Things actress said that Gibson had tried to give her an apology later on. Representatives of the actor denied all of Ryder’s allegations and said that they are totally untrue. Gibson had once said in a Deadline interview that “I’ve never treated anyone badly or in a discriminatory way based on their gender, race, religion or sexuality — period.” However, this isn’t the only instance of Gibson’s alleged discriminatory behavior towards Jewish people.
Mel Gibson’s History Of Anti-Semitic Remarks
In 2006, Mel Gibson was arrested for a DUI in Malibu, California and there he made disparaging remarks against Jewish people while drunk. As per the arrest report, he said, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world!” In a later Variety interview, he said that he was having a nervous breakdown while getting arrested. Gibson said:
“It was an unfortunate incident. I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime. And then it was made public by him for profit, and by members of — we’ll call it the press. So, not fair. I guess as for who I am, I’m not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever.”
Mel Gibson was again accused of using the ‘oven dodger’ term that references the mass murder of Jewish people in Nazi concentration camps by screenwriter Joe Eszterhas in 2012. In a letter published by The Wrap, the screenwriter had said to Gibson:
“I believe you announced the project with great fanfare – ‘a Jewish Braveheart’ – in an attempt to deflect continuing charges of anti-Semitism which have dogged you, charges which have crippled your career.”
It happened when the two were working on a movie about Judah Maccabee, the Jewish hero. The movie was ultimately shelved. Gibson denied such claims again and called them fabricated. His next big project is The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection.
The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection is slated for a February 2024 release.
Source: Variety and The Sunday Times
