We all know what happened to Mel Gibson last week. He drank too much, got behind the wheel, went speeding down the highway, and when pulled over by the police, apparently decided to blame it on the Jews. Since then, there have been mixed feelings in Hollywood. Some have come out in support of Mel and many have remained silent. But there is one actor who has become the first to come out publicly and say he will never work with Mel because of his actions – Rob Schneider.
Yeah, I know, I had to stop and take a second look at the news article myself. Rob Schneider? The mastermind who has brought us such cinematic classics as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and The Hot Chick? Rob took out an ad in the trade magazine “Variety” in which he said “”I, Rob Schneider, a 1/2 Jew, pledge from this day forth to never work with Mel Gibson-actor-director-producer-and anti-Semite.” Wow, Mel must have truly been disheartened to read this ad.
Now do not get me wrong. I watched and laughed at Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo because I like Rob and think he is funny, but this statement seems absurd for many reasons. I would not call Rob’s movies quite on par with most of Mel’s movies. Surely Rob did not think Mel was going to call him to star in Warrier, his upcoming drama set in the Roman Empire. To me, it just seems like a vain attempt by Rob to get his name in the news.
And secondly, Mel has had friends, many of them Jewish, come out in support of him. Movie producer Dean Devlin said he and his wife (both Jewish) consider Mel a friend. Dean went on to say he thought it was Mel’s disease (alcoholism) speaking and not the man himself. Jodie Foster also said, while Mel has had a long battle with alcoholism, he is certainly no anti-Semitic.
In my mind, the only people who can truly condemn Mel are those that have never ever uttered a word about someone of another race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or ethic group. And as sad as it is, I think that removes most of us from eligibility.
Mel made a mistake but as a Christian, I was taught to forgive people. Maybe Rob cannot find that in his heart, but I doubt Mel will lose any sleep over it anyhow.