Actor and director Mel Gibson has denied recent claims that he made anti-semitic and homophobic comments at a party years ago. Winona Ryder, star of Stranger Things and The Plot Against America, recently claimed that Gibson made a series of comments against the LGBTQ and Jewish communities during an encounter with him. Now, Gibson has responded.
Winona Ryder revealed Mel Gibson’s alleged comments during a recent interview with The Sunday Times. Ryder recounted the same story in an interview with GQ back in 2010 as well. In response, Gibson’s representative Alan Nierob says the accusation is “100 percent untrue.” Speaking further, Nierob had this to say on behalf of Gibson.
“She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she’s lying about it now. Also, she lied about him trying to apologize to her back then. He did reach out to her, many years ago, to confront her about her lies and she refused to address it with him.”
Winona Ryder said that Mel Gibson “tried” to apologize about the incident years later. According to Ryder’s account, she and a group of friends encountered the Braveheart director at a party several years ago. Gibson allegedly made derogatory comments with her gay friend present. Ryder identifies as Jewish, though not as religious. Here is what Ryder had to say about it in the recent interview.
“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?'”
Despite Mel Gibson’s denial, this is not the first time such comments from the former A-lister have come up. Gibson was famously arrested for a DUI in 2006. A transcript of the incident was later revealed, with Gibson saying “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” as part of an antisemitic rant. As a result, Gibson was largely ostracized from the business for a handful of years. The filmmaker later apologized for his remarks, but also referred to the incident as “not fair” and accused the officers of recording his comments illegally.
In recent years, Mel Gibson has been attempting something of a comeback. 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, which he directed, was met with critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Gibson has also had starring roles in movies such as Daddy’s Home 2 and Dragged Across Concrete. The filmmaker, additionally, has several high-profile projects on the burner as well, including Lethal Weapon 5 and Passion of the Christ 2. Gibson has also completed work on Boss Level and Fatman, which are currently awaiting release. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as the situation develops. This news comes to us via the The Hollywood Reporter.
