Sarah Silverman Shares Anti-Semitic Mel Gibson Quote Protesting His Upcoming 'Wild Bunch' Remake

Mel Gibson’s various controversies, of which there are many, happened primarily between 2005 and 2011. As odd as it is to think about that, the era in which he sexually harassed a police officer, yelled racist slurs, and was caught on tape verbally abusing and harassing his partner all occurred before this current #MeToo climate, and therefore, seem to have been swept under the rug, so to speak. While Roman Polanski gets kicked out of the Academy and Woody Allen can’t seem to finance a film, Gibson has continued to chug along, earning more and more acting and directing gigs. And with this latest news, people are starting to get sick of it.

Yesterday, we reported that Warner Bros. had signed Mel Gibson to co-write and direct a remake to the Sam Peckinpah Western “The Wild Bunch.” Now, before we get to the personal controversy surrounding the Oscar-winning filmmaker, there is the little issue of a major studio yet again remaking a classic film for monetary gain. There’s really no artistic reason to remake “The Wild Bunch.” Sure, it’s a product of its time, but no amount of CGI, famous faces, or even more violence is going to make for a better film. But I digress.

The real issue with Gibson seems to be that WB hired someone with his specific type of checkered past to helm a blockbuster film, though he’s already done this recently with the Oscar-nominated “Hacksaw Ridge” (even with a more reserved budget). On Twitter, as you might imagine, film fans are livid. One of the more talked about responses to the news comes from actress-comedian Sarah Silverman, who tweeted a Gibson quote, “Fucking Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

If you aren’t familiar with that specific line (and the dozens more that were caught on tape), it’s definitely worth a Google search. But for the sake of those around you, use some headphones.

Without even so much as a personal statement, Silverman’s tweet summed up why people are upset over Gibson’s hiring. To put it more bluntly, The Playlist contributor (and all-around swell guy) Jason Bailey tweeted, “I mean, I don’t want a WILD BUNCH remake from *anybody,* but PARTICULARLY not from that abusing racist.”

Another Playlist veteran, Jessica Kiang, tweeted in a response to the hiring, “Never been tempted to do a kickstarter before but really considering starting one to raise the funds to make this somehow not happen.” To which, another Playlist gem Gregory Ellwood replied, “I’ll contribute.”

A trip to Twitter will show you that there is a strong contingent of film fans and critics who are vehemently opposed to Gibson’s hiring. Will this result in any action from WB? It’s too early to tell. But with the James Gunn example, there’s precedent for firing a director for comments made years ago.