Accusations of homophobia
Some gay rights groups accused Gibson of homophobia, after a 1992 interview in the Spanish magazine El Pais. Asked what he thought of gay people, he said, "They take it up the ass." Gibson gestured descriptively, continuing, "This is only for taking a shit." When the interviewer recalled that Gibson previously had expressed fear that people would think he is gay because he’s an actor, Gibson replied, "Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them? I think not." He later defended his comments on Good Morning America, saying, "[Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone wants my opinion, I’ll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?"[19][20]
In January 1997, to make amends with the gay community, Gibson and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation hosted ten lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie Conspiracy Theory.[21]
The depiction of a homosexual character in Braveheart also drew accusations of homophobia.[22] Although historians agree that Prince (later King) Edward II of England was a mere puppet of Thomas of Lancaster, they dispute the portrayal of Edward as effeminate (and Edward’s father never threw his lover out of a window, as portrayed in the movie). It should also be noted that Gibson did not write the screenplay for the film.[23]
Gibson was accused of homophobia once more in his movies with his portrayal of Herod Antipas in The Passion of the Christ. Antipas is portrayed as an effeminate homosexual wearing makeup and having ‘boy-toys’, in many ways similar to the portrayal of Herod in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Although this was a common caricature of Herod in medieval Passion plays, it does not appear in the Gospels and is contrary to the historical record regarding Antipas. In spite of this portrayal, it should be noted that Christ uses the Greek word for a "vixen," or female fox, rather than "fox" when he describes Herod in the Gospel.[24][25][26]
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