Mel Gibson denies making "oven dodger" comment

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 4d

Mel Gibson categorically denies claims from Winona Ryder that he called her "an oven dodger" at a showbiz party.

Mel Gibson has categorically denied that he called Jewish actress Winona Ryder an "oven dodger".

Hollywood star Gibson hit the headlines in 2006 when he was arrested for drink-driving, randomly telling his arresting officer: "F**king Jews... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?"

As a result of the incident the 64-year-old found work hard to come by but has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, with roles in films such as The Expendables 3, Hacksaw Ridge and Daddy's Home 2.

In a 2010 interview with GQ, Ryder, 48, claimed that Gibson had made some unsavoury remarks towards her at a party, allegations that she repeated in an interview with The Sunday Times over the weekend.

"We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends, and Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar, and we're all talking and he said to my friend, who's gay, 'Oh wait, am I gonna get Aids?'" she said. "And then something came up about Jews, and he said, 'You're not an oven dodger, are you?'"

In response, Gibson's representative told TooFab: "This is 100% untrue. She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she's lying about it now. Also, she lied about him trying to apologise to her back then. He did reach out to her, many years ago, to confront her about her lies and she refused to address it with him."

Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, Gibson had completed work on three upcoming movies - Force of Nature, Waldo and Boss Level.