In 1995 Mel Gibson is said to have described the Jewess Winona Ryder as "Oven Dodger" – for which he has now lost a Netflix role.
An anti-Semitic remark Mel Gibson (64, "The Passion of Christ") is said to have made to Winona Ryder (48, "Stranger Things") in 1995 now falls to his feet again. The Jewish actress gave the Sunday Times an interview about her experience with anti-Semitism in Hollywood. In connection with this, she recounted how Mel Gibson would have asked her about her Jewish origin at a party in the nineties, saying, "But you're not an 'Oven Dodger', are you?"
A deeply malicious comment, for which there is no direct translation: The "oven" in this remark alludes to the crematoria of the German concentration camps, "to dodge" in English means "to avoid something". Gibson is also said to have insulted her homosexual companion by asking him: "Oh wait, do I get AIDS now?"
Netflix is taking consequences
The allegations are not new – Ryder had already reported the extreme remark to the "Guardian" in 2010. Even though a Gibson spokesman told Sun that the statement was "100 percent not true," many people on Gibson's social media team are calling for Gibson to retire. The actor has already lost his first job in the wake of the latest outrage: His involvement in the Netflix production "Chicken Run" is said to have been canceled, reports "The Wrap".
It's not the first time that Gibson has made headlines for anti-Semitic statements. When he was stopped by the police in 2006 for drunk driving, Gibson reportedly told police officers: "Jews are responsible for all wars in the world." He later attributed this statement to a nervous breakdown. His career did not recover from it.