Mel Gibson Under Renewed Scrutiny

Mel Gibson’s past controversies—including previous racist, antisemitic and sexist comments—have risen to the fore again amid the consequences Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera have faced for their pro-Palestinian posts.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict rages, a number of celebrities have garnered mixed reactions from the public no matter what stance they publicly take. Those who have called for a ceasefire, thrown their support behind Palestinians or Israel or maintained a public silence, have all been roundly criticized.

Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency after her comments at a recent pro-Palestinian rally in New York City. United Talent Agency confirmed to Newsweek it had cut ties with Sarandon.

“There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,” Sarandon was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Barrera was dropped from Scream 7 after she shared a host of pro-Palestinian posts, including an article that accused Israel of committing “genocide” through its strikes on Gaza.

The article—written for progressive Jewish magazine Currents by Raz Segal, associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University—described the assault on Gaza as “a textbook case of genocide unfolding in front of our eyes.”

When contacted by Newsweek, a spokesperson for production company Spyglass Media Group highlighted a statement shared with Variety that read: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

However, a number of social media users have pointed out that while these screen stars have faced losses for their comments, Gibson has continued to work in the years since he infamously told a police officer in 2006 that “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Gibson via email for comment.

“Very brave of Hollywood to go after several, seemingly dispensable, female actors for expressions of Palestinian solidarity while simultaneously rehabilitating Mel Gibson—an actual anti-Semite,” said one detractor on X, formerly Twitter. “Nicely done guys, you’re always so sharp.”

In apparent reference to Gibson’s role in the Peacock miniseries The Continental: From the World of John Wick, another wrote: “Firing Melissa Barrera for acknowledging a genocide in a year where Mel Gibson was allowed to lead a big budget tv show is some straight up f****** bulls***.”

“Meanwhile we have an award winning actor/director who has actually said antisemitic, anti-Black and misogynist things and he is STILL getting the bag,” a different commenter said of Gibson. “Funny how that works.”

A different person wrote: “I love that everyone is getting fired because Hollywood ‘has no room for antisemitism’ and also Mel Gibson still stars in movies and tv shows.”

“Susan Sarandon could have chosen her words more carefully but let’s not act like her being dropped came out of genuine concern for antisemitism” another stated. “Mel Gibson can still walk down a street in Hollywood without getting jumped.”

Amid the criticism, a scattering of social media users spoke out in Gibson’s defense, with one writing: “Mel Gibson’s ‘incident’ happened nearly 20 years ago and cost him an awful lot.”

Gibson has continued a slow walk back to Hollywood over the past decade following a number of controversies that involved racist, antisemitic and sexist comments, which have marred his career since the mid-2000s.

He made a number of headlines for offensive remarks over the past 16 years—perhaps most infamously, one made to a police officer in 2006 that “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

While he has secured a number of roles since then, including critically acclaimed ones leading to an Oscar nomination for his 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge, he appeared to struggle to wipe the slate clean entirely; news in 2021 that he would direct an upcoming Lethal Weapon movie was met with lingering criticism.

In 2006, Gibson apologized to a Los Angeles police officer who claimed the actor had shouted abuse at him during an arrest, including a claim that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

He later issued an apology asking Jewish people for forgiveness.

“There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark,” Gibson said in a statement per the New York Times.

He continued, in part: “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a D.U.I. charge. I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena.”

Abraham H. Foxman, the director of the ADL said at the time: “We’re glad that he owned up that what he said was not only offensive, but bigoted. When he’s finished with alcohol rehabilitation, we will be ready and willing to meet with him and to help him get rid of his other addiction, which is prejudice.”

Speaking about the incident 10 years later on Variety‘s Playback podcast, Gibson said the arrest had been “recorded illegally.”

“I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime,” he said. “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 who I am, I’m not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever.”

In June 2020, Winona Ryder told The Sunday Times that Gibson asked if she was an “oven dodger,” in apparent reference to the Holocaust.

Ryder, who identifies as Jewish, alleged: “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 star added that Gibson “tried” to apologize at a later date.