“Scandal” star Joshua Malina has something to say about Mel Gibson not being canceled despite his many past controversies.
Malina, 55, wrote a strongly-worded op-ed for the Atlantic, asking why the “Braveheart” star, 65, is still able to have a career in Hollywood after decades of accusations regarding anti-Semitic and racist remarks.
Gibson is set to direct “Lethal Weapon 5” and Malina described his reaction to the news in his article.
“If Gibson is welcomed back to direct the latest installment of this beloved franchise, it may be time to stop publishing think pieces about the power of ‘cancel culture,’” the “West Wing” actor wrote. “Because if he can continue to find big bucks and approbation in Hollywood, cancel culture simply does not exist.
“This might feel like a smaller matter if it didn’t come at a moment when members of my tribe feel the walls closing in again. Jews were the victims in more than 50 percent of religious-based hate crimes last year,” Malina continued. “In recent years, we’ve witnessed the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh, the murder at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California, Jewish students harassed on college campuses, European anti-Semitism on the rise — these are the headlines that make us feel unsafe.
“Is this really the time to glorify a man like Mel Gibson?”
The Post has reached out to Gibson’s representative for comment.
Malina also pondered how Gibson became “such a hot ticket again,” despite his history. “Is it just that memories of his hate speech have faded, while Hollywood’s recollection of his box-office pull remains?” Malina asked.
He then criticized Warner Bros. for their actions in hiring Gibson.
“It would be great if higher-profile executives, producers and actors would also take a stand,” he said. “Then I could believe in this cancel culture I keep reading so much about. And I could also believe that Jews do, in fact, count.”
‘Is this really the time to glorify a man like Mel Gibson?’
The “Mad Max” star has been embroiled in many anti-Semitic altercations throughout his 40-year-plus career. His father was even a once-acclaimed college professor who denied the severity of the Holocaust. In 2006, Gibson was pulled over for driving under the influence in California. He then proceeded to call a female police officer “sugar t–s” and yelled “F–king Jews . . . the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” before asking another cop, “Are you a Jew?”
In 2010, the Oscar winner allegedly released a racist tirade against his girlfriend at the time, Oksana Grigorieva. In a series of obscene outbursts, Gibson reportedly screamed at Grigorieva that the way she was dressed would get her “raped by a pack of n——.” He added, “You look like a f—king pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n——, it will be your fault.”
Most recently, actress Winona Ryder alleged that Gibson used an anti-Semitic slur at a party they both attended in 1995. Ryder, 50, spoke to the Sunday Times last year about the incident.
“We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends, and Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar,” the “Stranger Things” star explained to the UK-based outlet. She added that a conversation about Judaism came up, at which point Gibson asked, “You’re not an oven-dodger, are you?” He denied the accusations in a statement at the time.
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