Robert Downey Jr. receives backlash on social media after thanking Mel Gibson in his SAG Awards speech.
While winning the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, Downey took a minute to thank a few celebrities who had influenced his career. Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Jodie Foster, and Annette Bening were among those named with Gibson.
People watching the SAG Awards were upset at seeing Gibson being commended so highly by Downey. He has faced severe criticism due to various controversies, such as engaging in racist rants, domestic violence, making anti-Semitic remarks, and displaying homophobia. The actor has been recorded using offensive language, including the use of the n-word, making an insensitive comment to Winona Ryder about being a Jewish “oven dodger,” and asserting that, “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”
Downey has openly voiced his support for Gibson despite the controversies. The actor has consistently expressed his appreciation for Gibson’s role in casting him in the 2003 film The Singing Detective, a move that played a significant part in reviving Downey’s career.
“I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me in the lead of a movie that was actually developed for him,” Downey said at an American Cinematheque ceremony in 2011. “And he kept a roof over my head… and he kept food on the table.”
