Mel Gibson has issued an apology for his own “thoughtless idiocy” after he was filmed mocking a sign language interpreter.
The Passion of the Christ star was appearing at FanExpo Canada, a comic convention in Toronto, on Saturday for a Q&A session discussing his career “from Braveheart to Mad Max”.
But while walking out onto the stage, Gibson, 70, began mockingly mimicking the event's ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter, who was there to make sure that deaf or hard-of-hearing attendees could understand what he was saying.
Clips of Gibson were filmed from different angles and shared online where they were met with significant backlash, with Gibson apologising in response.
“Sometimes when you get pushed out on a stage in a spotlight your mind is all over the place, and sometimes spontaneous thoughtless idiocy is displayed,” he told Variety.
“There was no intended maliciousness attached, and I certainly apologise to anyone who was upset by it.”
While Gibson is no stranger to scandal, the clip was unfavourably shared online alongside footage of fellow action star, Reacher's Alan Ritchson, shaking hands with a different sign language interpreter following his own Q&A at the same expo.
Gibson has appeared at a number of fan conventions this summer, with the events facing backlash for platforming the actor.
For decades, Gibson has found himself at the centre of a number of controversies, including drunk driving cases and multiple allegations of antisemitism from the Hollywood star.
While being arrested for suspected drunk driving in 2006, Gibson made antisemitic remarks to a policeman which he later apologised for “blurting out in a moment of insanity”.
Over the years, Gibson has been accused of making homophobic comments and was recorded in 2010 making abusive and racist comments to Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his eighth child. Gibson later claimed that the tapes were edited.
Following their split, Grigorieva accused Gibson of domestic violence; a domestic violence investigation was launched against Gibson, but it was later dropped when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour battery charge.
Winona Ryder has claimed that Gibson had made antisemitic and homophobic comments in front of her at a party; something his representatives have called “100 per cent untrue”.
