Mel Gibson thanks Robert Downey Jr. for support following anti-Semitism scandal

Mel Gibson has thanked Robert Downey Jr. for his support following his past scandal in which he was arrested for anti-Semitism.

In a new cover story with Downey Jr. that appeared in Esquire, Gibson described Downey as “bold and generous and kind” for urging Hollywood to forgive him following anti-Semitic comments he made in 2006.

“One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career,” Gibson told Esquire. “I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid shit, and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I’m the poster boy for cancelled.

“A couple of years into that [Robert] invited me to some kind of award he was getting—we always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off.”

He continued: “So I was pretty much non-existent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me. It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that.”

Gibson is referencing the the 2011 American Cinematheque Awards ceremony where Downey Jr. was the recipient of the annual prize and used his speech to address what had happened to Gibson.

He asked Hollywood to join him in “forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering [Gibson] the same clean slate you have given me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame”, referring to his legal troubles in the ‘90s which resulted in him going to jail.

In other news, Downey Jr. recently revealed that he would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, should the opportunity arise.

He gained global recognition for starring in 10 films as Iron Man, concluding with Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

Back in March, Downey Jr. won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed biopic, Oppenheimer.

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