Mel Gibson arrives at T-Mobile Arena during the UFC 264 event on July 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Mel Gibson’s publicist awkwardly cut short his interview with Fox’s Jesse Watters after the presenter asked Gibson about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
On Saturday, Gibson appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” to talk about his new movie “Father Stu,” but towards the end of the interview (around the 4:44 mark in the clip below) Watters asked the “Braveheart” actor’s opinion on the response to Smith’s slap.
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“You understand it probably better than a lot of people, with your career,” Watters said. “And I was wondering if you had been the one that jumped up out of his seat and slapped Chris Rock, if you would have been treated the same way, Mel?”
Gibson appeared to laugh and indicate to his publicist while the question was being asked. As soon as Watters finished his sentence, the publicist’s voice could be heard: “Hello Jesse, thank you — that’s our time.”
—Jesse Watters Primetime (@jesseprimetime) April 1, 2022
Smith resigned from the Academy but other controversial celebrities, like Gibson, remain members
Will Smith with his best actor Oscar. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Many have accused the Academy of being unfair in their response to Smith’s slap when other controversial celebrities, such as Gibson, are still members of the organization.
In July 2006, TMZ published a police report that revealed Gibson made anti-Semitic comments while he was being arrested for driving under the influence. Later that month, Gibson apologized in a statement to the New York Times. In 2010, RadarOnline published audio recordings of the “Braveheart” actor screaming racist slurs at his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, including the N-word.
That same year, Winona Ryder told GQ that a “really drunk” Gibson had made a homophobic joke to her gay friend and an anti-semitic comment to her at a party in the 1990s, though Gibson’s representatives have denied this. Despite Gibson’s denials, Ryder has stood by her recollection of the comments, most recently in a statement to Variety in June 2020.
While Gibson was made an outcast in Hollywood after the controversies, his 2016 war film “Hacksaw Ridge” was nominated for six Oscars, including best picture and best director for Gibson.
