Movie star Mel Gibson has been criticised by Jewish groups after it emerged he once labelled Winona Ryder an ‘oven dodger’.
Gibson is alleged to have said the derogatory phrase when talking the actress at a party 15 years ago.
In an interview with GQ, Ryder said: “I was with my friend, who’s gay. (Gibson) made a really horrible gay joke. And somehow it came up that I was Jewish. He said something about ‘oven dodgers,’ but I didn’t get it.
“I’d never heard that before. It was just this weird, weird moment. I was like, ‘He’s anti-Semitic and he’s homophobic.’ No one believed me.”
‘Oven dodger’ is a reference to the holocaust when six million people were killed as part of Adolf Hitler’s quest for the Final Solution.
His vile phrase has been slammed by the Anti-Defamation League, who called Gibson a bigot.
Abraham H Foxman, national director of the ADL said: “Once a bigot is always a bigot. It is clear that Mel Gibson’s bigotry is not of recent vintage, that it’s been part of him for a long time. And when he loses his inhibitions, it comes out.
“In all my years at ADL, I have never heard of anyone using the term ‘oven dodgers’ – this may be a new contribution to the anti-Semitic lexicon – I guess nobody should be surprised that it is coming from Mel Gibson.”
The Oscar-winning actor and director has been criticised in the past for a range of anti-semitic while his hugely controversial father Hutton Gibson has questioned historical accounts of the holocaust.
It rounds up another incident-packed year for the Braveheart star, who has been going through an awkward divorce and recently crashed his Maserati in Malibu.
Ryder, who was born Winona Horowitz, is half Jewish and previously revealed she lost relatives during the holocaust.
Mel is a racist?!??! i think this was breaking news like 6 years ago.
Mel Is not a racist… He is misunderstood… Even if he is racist everyone is to some degree. Leave the man alone hes a great actor.
well you must be dumb, yes he is
Mel is simply misunderstood?
Nah…he is a talentless hack who just happens to be a religious nutjob as well…
Where is the misunderstanding?
Mel is a top bloke who says it as it is and no differnt than anyone else except he is a star so anything he says or does is going to upset someone. Personaly i am sick of hearing about about anti semitism, get over it people!