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Mel Gibson has issued something like an apology after mocking an American Sign Language interpreter.
Gibson appeared at Toronto’s Constitution Hall on Aug. 29 for a FanExpo Canada event titled “From Braveheart to Mad Max: A Q&A With Mel Gibson.” Moderated by ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley, the Q&A led Gibson through his storied career, culminating in a round of dialogue between Gibson and convention attendees.
But this stop in the divisive actor-director’s return to the spotlight after years of controversy was overshadowed by something Gibson did before he even took his seat on stage. In fan-captured video, Gibson steps out from behind a curtain and immediately starts mimicking the hand gestures of an ASL interpreter at the front of the stage.
In the aftermath, Gibson issued an apology that was shared with Entertainment Weekly. “Sometimes when you get pushed out on a stage in a spotlight your mind is all over the place, and sometimes spontaneous thoughtless idiocy is displayed,” he wrote. “There was no intended maliciousness attached, and I certainly apologize to anyone who was upset by it.”
Gibson is certainly no stranger to controversy, having spent the better part of the 2000s wading through multiple, often overlapping scandals. In 2006, the Braveheart star was arrested on a DUI charge in Malibu, Calif. During the arrest, he launched into an antisemitic tirade that he has issued a number of apologies for over the years.
In 2010, Winona Ryder alleged that Gibson directed shockingly offensive antisemitic comments toward her, which Gibson has denied and Ryder has doubled down on. That same year, his ex, Oksana Grigorieva, accused Gibson of domestic violence, and a secret recording in which he excoriated her with racist insults was made public.
Gibson ultimately pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge, avoiding jail time.
