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Is Mel Gibson canceled? Here's why Internet slammed 'Fatman' actor for his 'anti-Semitic and misogynist' past

Mel Gibson, whose career has been mired in controversies, started to trend immediately after 'Fatman' trailer dropped as people asked for his cancellation

Twitter is enraged with the news that Mel Gibson, the two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker and actor, is going to star in an upcoming dark action comedy film titled 'Fatman'. The trailer for the new movie dropped on social media, prompting strong reactions from people across platforms. The official IGN handle tweeted the movie trailer and wrote, "'Fatman' sees Santa Claus (Mel Gibson) down on his luck and entering into a partnership with… the US military?"

Gibson, whose career has been mired in numerous controversies, is not on social media, but his name started to trend almost immediately as Twitter users asked for the cancellation of the 'Mad Max' actor. The actor has been accused of being a shining example of a man who keeps getting reinstated and forgiven despite multiple instances of troubling behavior.

One user, questioning the efficacy of cancel culture itself, wrote, "When people say 'cancel culture is real', remind them of the time that raging misogynist and anti-Semite Mel Gibson got paid millions of dollars to play Santa Claus." Another user, in two tweets, reminded people about Mel Gibson's past and wrote, "Mel Gibson is trending. Reminder, he punched his girlfriend in the face, broke her nose and knocked out her teeth. But movie..." The user then quoted Gibson from a reportedly leaked audio, "'What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?' – Mel Gibson."

Another Twitter user, in a series of tweets, criticized Gibson and the entertainment industry as a whole. The user wrote, "People with name-brand fame -- e.g. Mel Gibson -- will never be wholly 'cancelled' because audiences are willing to pay to see them, and they're a sound investment. People not considered investments worth protecting can have their careers deleted, and do. That is how stuff works for your information." The user then continued, "Maybe the entertainment industry is not an effective arbiter of morality and is mostly interested in making money, I don't know, we may never know," and then went to add, "That said, while you may not be able to completely disappear a few well-placed celebrities you can still keep your less-established contemporaries in a state of constant anxiety over being ratted out while living in fear yourself of the eventual knock on the door. Have fun!"

Another angry user wrote, "They let Mel Gibson make movies despite his homophobic & anti-semitic rants. He told his wife she'd be 'r***d by a pack of —' and they STILL let him make movies & win Oscars. Saw him trending, looked up the producers for his next movie and it's no one I'll miss." Talking about Gibson's past actions, a user wrote, "Unrepentant anti-semite Mel Gibson? The one who drunkenly told a woman to go get raped Mel Gibson? That Mel Gibson? The Mel Gibson who made a 'blame the jews' movie about Jesus? That one?"

There were those who defended Gibson too; like this one user who tweeted, "LOL I am laughing at all these social justice warriors having epic meltdowns about Mel Gibson. Yeah, he said and did some bad things in the past, who hasn't? He was struggling with alcoholism. If Robert Downey Jr says we should give him a chance, then give him a chance." Another Gibson supporter said, "Mel Gibson, ok y'all want to cancel everyone really? Grow up not everyone is going to share the same opinion as you. It's called FREEDOM. You guys are legitimately adult children but don't worry when it's your turn to get judged the way you judge him you'll feel how much it hurts."

A controversial past

Most recently, as reported by Variety, actress Winona Ryder accused Gibson of passing anti-Semitic comments at her at a party. Recalling their encounter, the actress 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?'"

Back in 2004, Gibson's super-hit film 'The Passion of the Christ' was criticized for being anti-Semitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement ahead of the release of the movie saying: "The Passion could likely falsify history and fuel the animus of those who hate Jews." Then, in 2006, Gibson was forced to apologize to a Los Angeles police officer who claimed the 'Braveheart' actor shouted abuse at him during an arrest including yelling "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world". He later issued an apology saying, "There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-semitic remark."

Then, in 2019, Gibson faced immense outrage for an incident that occurred in 2010. An audio leak made its way online in which Gibson, during an argument with his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, launched into a racist, sexist rant. At one point, Gibson is heard saying: "You go out in public and it's a f***ing embarrassment to me. You look like a f***ing b***h on heat and if you get raped by a pack of — it will be your fault." The audio is still available online and is easily searchable. (Warning; the leaked audio is highly triggering and consists of serious racist and sexist commentary).

In 2015, Fox News reported about a 2013 incident in which Gibson – during an interview with former Republican speechwriter Peggy Noonan for Reader's Digest – downplayed the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. He said, "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..."

These remarks were made by the internet and individual organizations, MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.