Mel Gibson denies Winona Ryder’s claims of antisemitism, homophobia

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com/ Reuters) – Mel Gibson is hitting back at explosive claims by Winona Ryder that the Oscar-winning actor and director made antisemitic and bigoted remarks, and accusing the Stranger Things star of lying about their interactions.

“This is 100% untrue,” a representative for Gibson said in a statement to Variety. “She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she’s lying about it now.”

Ryder accused Gibson of making antisemitic and antigay comments in a recent interview with the Sunday Times. She has told similar stories in the past, including in a 2010 GQ profile.

“We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends,” she told the reporter from the Telegraph. “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?’”

Ryder went on to say that Gibson later “tried” to apologize to her about his comments. Gibson’s representative says that isn’t true.

“She lied about him trying to apologize to her back then,” the representative said. “He did reach out to her, many years ago, to confront her about her lies, and she refused to address it with him.”

Gibson’s once red-hot career froze over in 2006 when he was arrested for a DUI and told police that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world!” He also used racial slurs in audio recordings of a fight with ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, which was published in 2010 by RadarOnline.