World
Mel Gibson booted from Mardi Gras parade after Jewish groups complaint
The actor has been accused of antisemitism and was convicted for domestic battery
January 11, 2023 13:43
The actor has been accused of antisemitism and was convicted for domestic battery
January 11, 2023 13:43Mel Gibson’s role in a major Mardi Gras parade has been scrapped less than 24 hours after it was announced following complaints by several influential Jewish groups.
On Saturday the organisers of one of New Orleans’ famous annual parades said the Mad Max star would be this year’s co-grand marshal.
The Krewe of Endymion social club who organise the event received a flurry of criticism following the announcement and shortly said the Oscar winner was no longer among the line-up due to safety concerns.
The main parade in the Mardi Gras celebrations averages around 80 floats, 3,200 riders, and often amasses a handful of A-listers to act as grand marshals.
Endymion president Dan Kelly said “significant feedback” had been directed at the group, including “threats” which caused them “great concern”.
“In the best interest of the safety of our riders, special guests, and everyone that welcomes us on the streets, Mel Gibson will not ride as a co-grand marshal for our 2023 parade,” they said in a statement published on 8 January.
In 2006, the Lethal Weapon actor allegedly told a Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputy that: “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?” He issued two apologies for the incident and subsequently entered a rehabilitation programme for alcoholism.
In 2011 Mr Gibson pleaded no contest to a charge of battery after assaulting his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, and domestic violence charges against him were dropped. Ms Grigorieva also published a voice recording in which her former partner appeared to tell her: “If you get raped by a pack of n***ers it’ll be your fault.”
Winona Ryder, whose paternal ancestors include Holocaust victims, told the Times newspaper in 2020 that Mr Gibson had referred to her as an “oven dodger” during a conversation at a party. While she said the Braveheart star “tried” to apologise to her at a later date, his representatives said her claims were untrue.
“The Coronation is a drunken affair, and I think, in the moment, their responses were chalked up to that. I don’t think members of the executive committee understood the ramifications of having Gibson as the grand marshal,” one veteran member of the organisation told the New York Post.
A further member told the US tabloid that a “well-connected” Endymion member informed a city councilman about the controversy, and that “Councilmen were prepared to pull the permit” for the parade if Mr Gibson was to retain his role.
A slew of organisations including The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and the Greater New Orleans Rabbinic Council issued a joint public rebuke of the decision to “choose Mel Gibson as the parade’s 2023 Grand Marshal to begin with.”
They said that, “Given his history of fueling antisemitism and other forms of hate, we find his choice as Grand Marshal of Endymion was completely insulting and shortsighted,” adding that they “hope the Endymion leadership will take the opportunity to learn why the selection of Mel Gibson caused such pain and disappointment to the Jewish community as well as the marginalised communities he has harmed in the past.”