Mel Gibson Removed As Grand Marshall Of Mardi Gras Parade After Disturbing Threats Pour In

“The Krewe of Endymion has received significant feedback about our grand marshall announcement yesterday evening. Some of this commentary included threats that cause us great concern,” Krewe spokesman Dan Kelly said in a statement. “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.”

“We appreciate the cooperation of the city in addressing the issues that will allow us to present another wonderful parade this year along our entire route,” Kelly added. “We will move forward with our final preparations in the coming weeks for the largest procession in Carnival.” 

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Jewish Groups Sound Off

The Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, the Greater New Orleans Clergy and the Jewish Community Relations Council fired back by issuing a statement saying that while the groups are relieved that Gibson has been dropped, they also feel that he never should have been appointed as Grand Marshall in the first place.

“Although it has been announced that Mel Gibson will no longer ride due to reported threats, ADL, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and the Greater New Orleans Rabbinic Council—are appalled that Endymion chose Mel Gibson as the parade’s 2023 Grand Marshal to begin with,” their statement read. 

“Mel Gibson has a long history of making antisemitic, racist and misogynistic slurs,” the statement added. “While the actor has made half-hearted attempts to apologize for his remarks over the years, there is still a great deal of pain associated with his name and deep wounds in the Jewish community from those controversies…”

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Gibson’s Controversial History

Gibson has been accused of anti-semitism on various occasions throughout his career. In a 2020 interview with The Sunday Times, the Hollywood star Winona Ryder claimed that he once singled her out for being Jewish during a Hollywood party, asking her if she was an “oven dodger.”

“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?'” Ryder said.”And then something came up about Jews, and he said ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?'”

Gibson’s representative vehemently denied this claim, telling People Magazine that it was “100% untrue.”

However, this isn’t the only time that Gibson has been accused of anti-semitism. When the former Braveheart star was arrested for DUI back in 2006, a police report shows that he said “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

After this incident, Gibson issued an apology, saying, “I acted like a person completely out of control … and said things I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed.”

While there is no excuse for anti-semitism, we’re also living in a time when Whoopi Goldberg still has her job on “The View” after repeatedly saying that the Holocaust was not about race.

Perhaps these groups should focus a little more on taking down celebrities who are making anti-semitic comments in modern times, and a little less on someone like Gibson, who appears to have tried to make amends for offensive comments that he may have made in the distant past.