Mel Gibson shared his gratitude towards Robert Downey Jr. for his support during the hard times in his life in a new Esquire profile of Downey published Monday.
Gibson openly discussed the impact of Downey’s gesture on his career and personal life. Gibson’s career hit a setback after his arrest in Malibu for driving under the influence in 2006, where he made antisemitic remarks, according to a police report published by the Los Angeles Times. The incident led to his widespread criticism and a temporary blacklisting within Hollywood.
Mel Gibson is expressing his gratitude toward the ‘generous and kind’ Robert Downey Jr. for standing up for him after his controversial 2006 DUI arrest, when he was ‘the poster boy for canceled.’ https://t.co/x5KZWVF5C2
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 9, 2024
“One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career. I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid shit, and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I’m the poster boy for canceled,” he told Esquire. (RELATED: ‘Oh My God, You’re F*cked Up’: Robert Downey Jr. Reveals Memorable Conversation With Co-Star Ryan O’Neal)
Gibson credited Downey for standing by him when he felt utterly ostracized.
“A couple of years into that he invited me to some kind of award he was getting—we always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off,” he added. “So I was pretty much nonexistent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me. It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that.”