It seems that Mel Gibson is at it once again, as he has been accused of making anti-Semetic remarks to screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. Mel and Joe were set to make the movie The Maccabees together but the project now looks dead after Joe’s recent claims.
The Maccabees centres around the ancient Jewish hero Judah Maccabee, whose triumphs are commemorated during Hanukkah. Joe claims that Mel Gibson made a number of anti-Semetic remarks, referring to Jews as “oven-dodgers" and "Jewboys”. However, Mel has now denied those claims.
Gibson explained, “Contrary to your assertion that I was only developing Maccabees to burnish my tarnished reputation, I have been working on this project for over 10 years and it was publicly announced eight years ago.”
He added, “I absolutely want to make this movie; it's just that neither Warner Brothers nor I want to make this movie based on your script.” It is not the first time that Mel Gibson has been accused of anti-Semitism, after he was arrested for drunk driving in 2006, ranting, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”
