Winona Ryder (Noam Galai/Getty) and Mel Gibson (John Rasimus / Barcroft Media via Getty)
Winona Ryder has accused Mel Gibson of making homophobic and antisemitic “jokes” at a crowded party.
The Stranger Things star made the comments when asked by The Sunday Times if she has experienced antisemitism in the television and film industry.
“I have… in interesting ways,” the acclaimed actor replied.
She went on to recount a conversation with Mel Gibson where he allegedly subjected her and a friend to antisemitic and homophobic comments.
Mel Gibson allegedly used antisemitic and anti-gay slurs to Winona Ryder and a friend.
“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?’”
Ryder continued: “And then something came up about Jews, and he said, ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?’”
The actor said Gibson later “tried” to apologise for his remarks.
And then something came up about Jews, and he said, ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?’
Ryder also said she has experienced antisemitism in “interesting ways” in the film and television industry.
“There are times when people have said, ‘Wait, you’re Jewish? But you’re so pretty!’ There was a movie that I was up for a long time ago, it was a period piece, and the studio head, who was Jewish, said I looked ‘too Jewish’ to be in a blue-blooded family.”
The actor has faced criticism in the past for his anti-gay and antisemitic comments.
This is not the first time Gibson has been accused of making homophobic and antisemitic comments.
In a 1991 interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, Gibson reportedly said about gay people: “They take it up the ass… this is only for taking a s**t.”
In the same interview, he said he didn’t think he would be mistaken for a gay man because he doesn’t “look” or “talk” or “move” like a queer person.
He famously came under fire in 2006 when he told a Jewish police officer: “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”.
PinkNews has contacted Gibson’s representative for comment.