Actor urges Hollywood to 'Cancel Mel Gibson' for being a 'raging anti-Semite' — and gets a cyber spanking for dusting off 'old news,' pushing 'censorship'



Mel Gibson's drunken, anti-Semitic rant in the back of police car was big news when it took place in 2006, a decade and a half ago.

His life continued in a tailspin after: He and his wife divorced, a subsequent relationship came unglued amid battery accusations, there was a child custody battle — and of course, Hollywood shunned him.

Gibson, of course, apologized for his words and has been putting his life back together over the succeeding years. In addition, he reportedly educated himself about the Holocaust and quietly conducted related endeavors, such as his philanthropic work to help Holocaust survivors in eight countries through the Survivor Mitzvah Project.

And lately things have been looking up in Hollywood, as Gibson reportedly was named the director of "Lethal Weapon 5."

But that was too much for one fellow actor to take.

So much so that Joshua Malina — who's been in "The West Wing" and other productions — penned an essay last week for the Atlantic bluntly titled, "Cancel Mel Gibson" with an accompanying question, "Why is Hollywood still hiring this raging anti-Semite?"

Huh?

In short, Malina — who is Jewish — is offended that Hollywood is giving Gibson second chances despite what he said 15 years ago.

"Gibson is a well-known Jew-hater (anti-Semite is too mild). His prejudices are well documented," Malina writes. "So my question is, what does a guy have to do these days to get put on Hollywood’s no-fly list? I’m a character actor. I tend to take the jobs that come my way. But—and this hurts to write—you couldn’t pay me enough to work with Mel Gibson."

He goes on to acknowledge that while Gibson is "talented," "many horrible people produce wonderful art. Put me down as an ardent fan of Roald Dahl, Pablo Picasso, and Edith Wharton; can’t get enough of what they’re selling. But these three had the good taste to die. That makes it a lot easier to enjoy their output. Gibson lives. And Tinseltown need not employ him further."

Malina also brings up Gibson saluting former President Donald Trump at a UFC match over the summer — and goes back in time again, reminding us of purported anti-Semitism in Gibson's 2004 blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ," and a recorded racial slur in 2010 as a way of bolstering his argument.

"How did this guy become such a hot ticket again?" Malina asks. "Is it just that memories of his hate speech have faded, while Hollywood’s recollection of his box-office pull remains?"

How did observers respond?

Comments on Malina's essay in a Yahoo Entertainment piece about it were decidedly in Gibson's corner and accused Malina of sour grapes and rehashing old news:

  • "How about we cancel people who get offended by everything?" one commenter asked. "You're welcome to your view, but I think most of us are getting sick of these people telling as what we can and cannot watch, say, do, or think."
  • "Surprised that the Atlantic ran this article," another commenter said, adding that "it is old news, and the case made by Malina sounds more like censorship and authoritarianism."
  • "How much more time is the cancel culture going to make Mel stand in the corner? I thought he atoned for his drunken slurs," another commenter noted. "Everybody deserves a second chance. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. Now let the man make some more movies like the other ones I liked."
  • "I hope someone digs around in this guy's past to find something he can be cancelled for," another commenter quipped.
  • "Glass houses," another commenter stated. "I say cancel the people who don't know how to forgive."

'Unless you are completely without sin'

In the spirit of digging up old news, way back in 2011, actor Robert Downey Jr. chided a star-studded audience on Gibson's behalf during a speech for an award that Downey specifically had Gibson present to him.

"I humbly ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin — in which case you picked the wrong f***ing industry — in forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering him the same clean slate that you have me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame," Downey said in regard to Gibson.

Before those pointed words, Downey revealed to listeners how Gibson had helped him — previous to Gibson's own downfall:

When I couldn't get sober, he told me not to give up hope, and he urged me to find my faith. It didn't have to be his or anyone else's as long as it was rooted in forgiveness. And I couldn't get hired, so he cast me in a lead of a movie that was actually developed for him. And he kept a roof over my head, and he kept food on the table. And most importantly he said that if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoings, and if I embraced that part of my soul that was ugly — "hugging the cactus," he calls it — he said that if I hugged the cactus long enough I would become a man of some humility and that my life would take on a new meaning, and I did, and it worked. All he asked in return was that someday I'd help the next guy in some small way. It's reasonable to assume that at the time he didn't imagine that the next guy would be him or that someday was tonight!

Downey added to the crowd that Gibson had "hugged the cactus long enough!"

Robert Downey Jr asks forgiveness for Mel Gibsonyoutu.be

Racist graffiti appears in college dorm. NAACP condemns the act; students march and boycott — then a black student admits he did it.



Racist graffiti was found in a dormitory stairwell at Michigan's Albion College last Friday, and the offensive writing included the phrases "Die [N-word] please!" and "KKK white power" — as well as an anti-Semitic epithet: a Star of David with the numbers "666" written across it.

As a result, the college was in an uproar.

What happened next?

More than 450 students and staff members marched across campus Monday to protest the act and boycott the school, WWMT-TV reported.

"You're nothing but a coward, you have no room here, you're not welcomed," junior Domonic McDonald said presumably to the culprit, according to the station. "I'll pray for you. You need to be better."

Senior Jayson Sawyer told WWMT that if Albion's administration didn't listen to protesting students, then a group of them would file a civil rights discriminatory lawsuit with the help of Albion College board of trustees members.

On Tuesday, Robert Dunklin — the NAACP's Albion branch president — condemned the graffiti, MLive reported: "It is not acceptable in this community ... Whoever it is, they're best to come forward or get out of town."

To top things off, Albion offered a $1,000 reward for information that could identify the source of graffiti, the outlet said.

"The racist and anti-Semitic actions taken on our campus over the last week are cowardly and will not be tolerated," college President Matthew Johnson said, according to MLive. "We are outraged and angered that this incident occurred within our community. In addition to caring for and protecting the students most directly impacted, and addressing the safety concerns of the broader student body, we are currently investigating who is responsible for racist graffiti on our campus."

Caught!

Well, it turns out a black male student was responsible for the racist graffiti, MLive reported in a separate story. Albion police brought in the 21-year-old for questioning Tuesday, and he admitted to creating most of the graffiti, Chief Scott Kipp told the outlet, adding that video evidence from Albion's Campus Safety Department confirmed the student's statements.

More from the outlet:

The student was released after questioning, Kipp said. Once the investigation is complete, the information will be submitted to the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office for any charges related to the incident, he said. [...]

In a series of tweets Wednesday evening, April 7, college officials said the student was acting alone and acknowledged responsibility for the incidents. The student was immediately removed from campus and placed on temporary suspension while the college conducts a full investigation as part of its student judicial process, college officials said.

Curious responses

School officials in the tweets didn't acknowledge the race of the person who admitted to creating the graffiti — but they insisted transformation is still necessary.

"We know the acts of racism that have occurred this week are not about one particular person or one particular incident. We know that there is a significant history of racial pain and trauma on campus, and we are taking action to repair our community," one of the tweets read. "We will change and heal together as a community, because we are committed to doing the work."

Students said in the last month there were at least three instances involving racial and derogatory slurs written on dorm walls, along with drawings of swastikas, WWMT-TV reported in a separate story.

But it didn't seem to matter to them that a black student was behind the graffiti.

"We are not anti-white, our movement is not anything of that nature, we are anti-ism," boycott organizer Sawyer, quoted in the previous WWMT story, told the station. "Our goal is to remove hatred, within the Albion community and the marginalized communities as well."

Indeed, Thursday marked the third day of students boycotting classes, WWMT said.

For the third day this week, Albion College students and staff marched across campus, demanding change over recent… https://t.co/HBEUfSI8W9
— Trisha McCauley (@Trisha McCauley)1617921310.0

And the beat goes on

TheBlaze has extensively reported on hate crime hoaxes:

Players from high-powered HS football team reportedly utter 'Auschwitz,' 'dreidel,' 'rabbi' for on-field play calling — now head coach is fired



Following reports that his players used words like "Auschwitz," "dreidel," and "rabbi" for on-field play calling during a game earlier this month, the coach of high-powered Duxbury High School in Massachusetts is out of a job, the Associated Press reported.

What are the details?

Dave Maimaron — who has led the the team to five state football titles since taking over the program in 2005 — issued an apology.

"On behalf of the staff and players of the Duxbury High School football team, I want to extend my apology for the insensitive, crass and inappropriate language used in the game on March 12th," Maimaron wrote, according the AP, which added that he called the language "careless, unnecessary and most importantly hurtful on its face -- inexcusable."

He also has been placed on administrative leave from his position as a special education teacher, WBZ-TV reported.

Massachusetts high school football is being played in the spring this year after the season last fall was moved over the coronavirus, the AP said.

Robert Trestan, president of the New England Anti-Defamation League, said Duxbury Public Schools Superintendent John Antonucci told him that words like "Auschwitz," "dreidel," and "rabbi" were used in Duxbury's game against Plymouth North, the AP said. Plymouth school officials alerted Duxbury about the matter, the outlet added.

The words were not directed at the opposing team or at a particular player, Antonucci said, according to the AP.

"It's deeply hurtful to the Jewish community to learn that the plays somehow connect to the Holocaust and Judaism," Trestan said, according to the outlet. "This is a really serious situation. There are indications of a systemic failure both on and off the field."

The district hired Edward Mitnick of Just Training Solutions LLC to assist in its investigation, the AP said, adding that Mitnick is an attorney and investigator with 30 years' experience in such matters.

Duxbury High School's administration said in an emailed statement that "the outrage is real, warranted, and we hear it. The fact that members of our school community used such offensive language, including anti-Semitic language, is horrifying and disappointing," the AP said, adding that Duxbury canceled this Friday's game against Hingham.

"It is important to note that while the players clearly demonstrated poor judgment, the responsibility for this incident also lies with the adults overseeing the program," Antonucci also noted, according to the Patriot Ledger. "In short, this was a systemic failure."

The paper added that Duxbury won the Division 2 state championship in 2016 and lost last season's state final at Gillette Stadium.

'Saturday Night Live' cast member under fire again — this time for joke decried as 'anti-Semitic'



That didn't take long.

After drawing ire late last month for telling a joke denounced as "transphobic" and launching the left into a feeding frenzy upon itself, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Michael is in hot water again. And this time it's for a joke many are calling "anti-Semitic."

What did he say?

During the latest installment of the show's "Weekend Update" sketch, Che noted that "Israel is reporting that they've vaccinated half of their population, and I'm gonna guess it's the Jewish half."

As with his controversial "Don't ask, don't tuck" quip last month, the studio audience responded with laughter that was a just tad on the nervous side:

Michael Che - Israel vaccinated only Jews youtu.be

How did folks respond?

The American Jewish Committee launched a petition Sunday demanding that "SNL" apologize, the Times of Israel said.

"Saturday Night Live's 'joke' isn't just untrue — it's dangerous, a modern twist on a classic anti-Semitic trope that has inspired the mass murder of countless Jews throughout the centuries," the petition said, the paper reported. The joke also referred to the charge that Jews are responsible for plagues, according to the petition, which was to be delivered to NBC, the paper added.

"Spreading antisemitic lies & misinformation is already a problem," Israel's Consul General in New York Israel Nitzan tweeted at "SNL," the Times of Israel said. "Fanning the flames just to get a laugh is not only wrong, it's irresponsible. Israel has made the vaccine available for its entire population equitably, regardless of gender, race or religion."

More from the paper:

As of Sunday, over 4.3 million Israelis have received their first vaccine dose, and almost 3 million have received the second, out of a population of 9 million.

Israel has offered vaccinations to all of its citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, in addition to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. But critics have faulted the Jewish state for not vaccinating the roughly five million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. [...]

Critics of Israel's vaccination policy point to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power is required to provide vaccines to the inhabitants of the territories under its control.

Israel rejects the claim that it occupies the West Bank, saying the territories it has ruled since 1967 are "disputed," rather than occupied. It also notes that it has pulled out of Gaza, though it maintains a blockade over the territory. As such, Jerusalem has never accepted the applicability of that international law statute to the territories.

Israel also maintains it is not responsible for inoculating the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The government points to the 1995 Oslo Accords, which stipulate that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, while both sides are to work together to combat epidemics.

The Times of Israel added that Israel in recent days has transferred several thousand doses to Ramallah for the Palestinian Authority to vaccinate medical staff — and that on Friday the Palestinian Authority said Israel agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians employed in Israel.

Israel temporarily delayed the transfer of Russian-donated vaccines to Gaza, which is under an Israeli blockade to prevent weapons from reaching terrorist group Hamas, the paper also reported.