Mel Gibson Apologizes For “Thoughtless Idiocy” After Seemingly Mocking ASL Interpreter At Fan Event

Mel Gibson is apologizing after he appeared to mock an American Sign Language interpreter at a fan event over the weekend.

Video circulating online shows the actor momentarily making furious hand gestures behind the back of an interpreter as he takes the stage at Fan Expo Canada. The video is brief, 1-3 seconds.

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After backlash online, the actor issued a statement today saying, “I certainly apologize to anyone who was upset by it.” He added that “there was no intended maliciousness.”

His explanation: “Sometimes when you get pushed out on a stage in a spotlight your mind is all over the place, and sometimes spontaneous thoughtless idiocy is displayed.”

You can see Gibson’s full statement below.

“Sometimes when you get pushed out on a stage in a spotlight your mind is all over the place, and sometimes spontaneous thoughtless idiocy is displayed — there was no intended maliciousness attached, and I certainly apologize to anyone who was upset by it.”

The Oscar winner has, of course, been dogged for decades by anti-Semitic comments he made during a 2006 DUI arrest and later a leaked audio recording of a racist, misogynistic rant aimed at his then girlfriend and mother to his newborn child.

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