Mel Gibson accused of anti-Semitic remarks by Winona Ryder

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It’s 2020 and American-Australian actor Mel Gibson has made his way back to the spotlight, but it’s not because he’s set to make another film — or even star in one — but because Winona Ryder has, once again, accused him of anti-Semitism.

After being asked if she had ever experienced discrimination or scrutiny in Hollywood because she identifies as Jewish, during an interview with the Sunday Times on June 21, Ryder, 48, recounted an experience she had at a party where Gibson, 64, allegedly made a homophobic remark towards one of her friends before asking Ryder if she was “an oven dodger.”

The offensive term seemingly refers to large-scale gas chambers Nazis used to kill Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (or JTA),

“We were all talking and (Gibson) 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?’” the Stranger Things star claimed to the U.K.-based news outlet.

Ryder first made the allegation back in 2010 during an interview with GQ, according to the New York Post. She said that the alleged incident took place in 1995.

The accusation came four years after a 2006 incident in which the Lethal Weapon star went on an anti-Semitic tirade after being pulled over by the police. He was later charged with a DUI and released shortly thereafter.

Ryder told the Sunday Times that, while she’s “not religious”, that she does “identify” as Jewish.

“It’s a hard thing for me to talk about because I had family who died in the camps, so I’ve always been fascinated with that time,” she said.

Ryder also touched upon another experience she had because of her religious identity in Hollywood.

“There are times when people have said, ‘Wait, you’re Jewish? But you’re so pretty!’” she said.

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The Beetlejuice star continued: “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.”

In addition, Ryder claimed that Gibson “tried” to apologize for the alleged remarks later on in the evening.

As a result of his alleged remarks, Gibson quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, with many criticizing him for his use of words and history of anti-Semitism.

“Saw someone imply that Winona Ryder shoplifting in 2001 is worse than Mel Gibson being a racist anti-semite. If you think similarly, pull your head out of your a—,” tweeted one user.

Here’s what some other Twitter users had to say:

Others pondered why Ryder’s comments had resurfaced after 10 years.

Though most comments took aim at the Braveheart star, some showed their support by calling Ryder a “liar.”

A representative of Gibson told Global News that Ryder’s allegation “is 100 per cent untrue.”

“She lied about it over a decade ago when she talked to the press, and she’s lying about it now,” said the spokesperson in an official statement.

“Also, she lied about him trying to apologize to her back then,” they added, before saying Gibson tried to reach out to her about the “lies.”

“He did reach out to her, many years ago, to confront her about her lies and she refused to address it with him,” the statement concludes.

— With files from Global News’ Chris Jancelewicz