Mel Gibson Claims Winona Ryder Is Lying About Jewish ‘Oven Dodger’ Comment

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Mel Gibson 'Daddy's Home 2' UK Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals

Mel Gibson has once again denied Winona Ryderโ€™s allegation that he made homophobic and antisemitic comments to her at a party.

In a statement provided to Variety, a representative for the disgraced Oscar-winner denied a story recently retold in an interview with the Heathers star. โ€œThis is 100% untrue,โ€ the statement reads. โ€œShe lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and sheโ€™s lying about it now.โ€

During an interview with The Sunday Times, Ryder was asked if she had ever experienced antisemitism in the industry and responded with a story concerning the Braveheart star that she had previously shared in a GQ interview in 2010.

Mel Gibson
Director Mel Gibson arrives for the 89th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 6, 2017. (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

โ€œWe were at a crowded party with one of my good friends,โ€ she said. โ€œAnd Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar, and weโ€™re all talking and he said to my friend, whoโ€™s gay, โ€˜Oh wait, am I gonna get AIDS?โ€™ And then something came up about Jews, and he said, โ€˜Youโ€™re not an oven dodger, are you?'โ€

Ryder claims that Gibson later tried to apologize, something that his rep also claims to be untrue. โ€œShe lied about him trying to apologize to her back then,โ€ the response reads. โ€œHe did reach out to her, many years ago, to confront her about her lies and she refused to address it with him.โ€

Mel Gibson UK Premiere of 'Daddy's Home 2'
Mel Gibson attends the UK Premiere of โ€˜Daddyโ€™s Home 2โ€™ at Vue West End on November 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Getty Images)

She has since replied to his denial. โ€œI believe in redemption and forgiveness and hope that Mr. Gibson has found a healthy way to deal with his demons, but I am not one of them,โ€ she said in a statement. โ€œAround 1996, my friend Kevyn Aucoin and I were on the receiving end of his hateful words. It is a painful and vivid memory for me. Only by accepting responsibility for our behavior in this life, can we make amends and truly respect each other, and I wish him well on this lifelong journey.โ€

Mel Gibson 12th Edition Of The Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion And Art Fest - Arrivals
Mel Gibson at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on February 19, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Getty Images)

Reports of both antisemitic and homophobic behavior have followed Gibson throughout his career. In a 1991 interview with Spanish newspaper El Paรญs, Gibson made derogatory remarks about gay sex and claimed he would never be confused for a gay man because of the way he looks and moves.

โ€œIโ€™m not apologizing to anyone,โ€ he said years later when a GLAAD protest took place outside the premiere of Braveheart. โ€œIโ€™ll apologize when hell freezes over. They can fuck off.โ€

How charming.

Mel Gibson
US actor and director Mel Gibson arrives for the Art of Elysiumโ€™s 12th annual Gala, in Los Angeles, California, on January 5, 2019. (Photo by Jean-Baptiste LACROIX / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images)

And then there was his infamous 2006 DUI arrest, in which Gibson said, โ€œJews are responsible for all the wars in the world,โ€ and referred to a female officer on the scene as โ€œsugar tits.โ€

He has also been recorded on tape making racist remarks while expressing a desire for his ex-girlfriend to be raped.

The Mad Max actorโ€™s father, the late author Hutton Red Gibson, infamously gave an interview in which he declared the Holocaust โ€œfiction.โ€

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