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publicist, and in a later interview with Diane Sawyer, he affirmed the accuracy of the quotations.
Gibson's father, Hutton Gibson, is known in part because of his beliefs in antisemitic canards such as Jewish world domination conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial and for his opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, among which was the lifting of the charge of deicide against the Jews. Commentators have suggested that it is possible that Hutton's antisemitism may have influenced Mel's opinions about Jews, especially since, when asked about Hutton's controversial views, Mel responded, "My father has never told me a lie."
Other allegations
In July 2010, it was reported that he had been caught on tape making misogynistic and racist statements, stating that his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva would be "raped by a pack of niggers". He was also recorded making a threat to burn down Grigorieva's house. The previous month she had been granted a domestic violence restraining order against him.
Prankster
Mel Gibson is known for his sense of humor on the set of his movies. He has a reputation for practical jokes, puns, Stooge-inspired physical comedy, and doing outrageous things to shock people. Gibson is fond of drawing caricatures and hiring high school marching bands to pay tribute to his co-workers. As a
director he sometimes breaks the tension on set by having his actors perform serious scenes wearing a red clown nose. Helena Bonham Carter, who appeared alongside him in Hamlet, said of him, "He has a very basic sense of humor. It's a bit lavatorial and not very sophisticated." On the set of Maverick Gibson played a joke on co-star Jodie Foster's birthday by secretly rewriting the script to give her character all corny dialogue. Foster returned the favor by hiring a bagpiper in full Scottish regalia to follow Mel around at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after he won for Braveheart. On the set of Ransom, Gibson presented Ron Howard and Brian Grazer with a mock Braveheart For Your Consideration ad when both Braveheart and Apollo 13 were nominated for Best Picture. The ad was for “Best Moon Shot,” and featured a picture of Braveheart's