Mel Gibson to star in film about Jewish family and people are livid: 'Who better to explore and parody anti-Semitic tropes?'

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Mel Gibson’s latest career news is that he’ll star in the black comedy Rothchild, alongside Shia LaBeouf. The Lethal Weapon star has several upcoming projects, and this new one is again drawing attention from social media — much of it negative — because of the subject matter.

Rothchild is described as a film about Becket Rothchild (played by LaBeouf), whose mother was disowned by one of New York’s wealthiest families when he was a baby. As an adult, Becket schemes to quietly get inside the Rothchilds’ upper-crust world, eliminate the family members standing in his way and claim his birthright.

Mel Gibson's new movie is "Rothchild." (Photo: Jerritt Clark/WireImage)
Mel Gibson's new movie is Rothchild. (Photo: Jerritt Clark/WireImage)

Gibson stars as family patriarch Whitelaw, the villain of the movie. None of this sits well with those who recall Gibson’s anti-Semitic remarks recorded in the police report for his July 2006 arrest on suspicion of drunk driving. According to police, Gibson said several profanities about Jews and that, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Gibson apologized for his words at the time and stopped drinking alcohol, which he said had caused his rant.

When he was asked about the incident during an Oct. 2016 interview with Variety, he was frustrated.

“It was an unfortunate incident,” Gibson said. “I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime. And then it was made public by him for profit, and by members of — we’ll call it the press. So, not fair. I guess as who I am, I’m not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever.”

He continued, “Ten years have gone by. I’m feeling good. I’m sober, all of that kind of stuff, and for me it’s a dim thing in the past. But others bring it up, which kind of I find annoying, because I don’t understand why after 10 years it’s any kind of issue.”

Reaction to the news Gibson will now star in Rothchild was swift — and negative.

Rothchild is one of several movies Gibson has in the works, including one in which he plays Santa Claus.

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