Mel Gibson axed from 'Chicken Run' sequel for calling Winona Ryder a Jewish 'oven dodger', mocking homosexuals
Mel Gibson has been axed from Netflix's 'Chicken Run' sequel after allegations that the Hollywood actor made "an anti-semitic remark" to fellow actress Winona Ryder more than 25 years ago.
64-year-old Gibson, who played Rocky in the 2000 original movie, will not be reprising his role due to his remark to Ryder back in 1995, The Wrap reported on Tuesday.
Winona, 48, opened up about the incident in an interview with the Sunday Times, claiming Mel asked her if she was a Jewish "oven dodger" at a party. "We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends and Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar," the 'Stranger Things' actress recalled. But at some point later, according to the actress, the topic of "Jewish faith came up" and Mel allegedly asked her, "You’re not an oven dodger, are you?"
According to The Sun, the term "oven dodger" is a derogatory reference to the way Jews were incinerated in Nazi Germany's death camps.
That said, this allegedly wasn't the only inappropriate comment the 'Mad Max' star made throughout the night. Ryder claimed he asked one homosexual friend of hers, “‘Oh, wait, am I gonna get AIDS?’”
Ryder also added that he later tried to apologize for his offensive words and behavior.
However, a representative for Gibson has deemed the allegations "100% untrue." Speaking to The Sun, the rep explained that Mel had reached out to Winona when the accusations were first reported in 2010, and at that time "she refused to address them with him.”
This is, however, not the first time the Hollywood veteran has been accused of anti-Semitism.
Gibson faced a major backlash for his 2004 blockbuster 'The Passion of the Christ' after many deemed it anti-Semitic. The Anti Defamation League took issue with the movie, saying it “could likely falsify history and fuel the animus of those who hate Jews."
In another yet allegation that surfaced in 2015, Gibson was accused of downplaying the number of Jews killed in the holocaust during a 2013 interview for speechwriter Peggy Noonan’s ‘Reader’s Digest’.
“I mean when the war was over they said it was 12 million. Then it was six. Now it's four. I mean it's that kind of numbers game," he reportedly said during the interview.
And during a DUI stop in 2006, he reportedly told California police officers that Jews were "responsible for all the wars in the world."
The star later apologized for his "vitriolic and harmful words" that were "blurted out in a moment of insanity."
He would later clarify to Variety that he doesn't discriminate against anyone and that it was a "nervous breakdown" which caused him to say that.
Nonetheless, Ryder's recent claims have led to Gibson facing the wrath of internet users, several of whom took to Twitter to slam him for being extremely racist.
One wrote, “I never realize much of a dumpster fire Mel Gibson was until I heard some of the shit that came out of his mouth. I’m so disappointed in him I can't even view a Mel Gibson movie. What a f**king douchebag” while a second added, "Mel Gibson and antisemitism owing to his past. name a more iconic duo."
"Once every few years people discover that Mel Gibson is a horrible person and then there's a big hubbub and then he faces absolutely no consequences for anything he's said or done, so," a third chimed in.
"Mel Gibson is a PRIME example of old white men in Hollywood getting away with sh*t they shouldn’t be getting away with. why do we allow ppl like him to maintain their careers," another added.