As ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ hits theaters, Mel Gibson’s casting called into question
The actor's checkered past is well-documented.
In a news cycle that has been dominated by accusations against a number of Hollywood figures, much of the response by the film industry has been swift and decisive. Louis C.K.’s movie I Love You, Daddy will not be released after five women shared their stories of sexual misconduct by the comedian. Kevin Spacey will be cut out of the upcoming film All the Money in the World after accusations of sexual assault surfaced, and Netflix immediately canceled and halted production on his show, House of Cards. Harvey Weinstein was ousted from the companies he built, and expelled from the Academy, a “virtually unprecedented” move.
Meanwhile, another celebrity with a scandalous past is headlining a family-friendly comedy in theaters this weekend. Friday marks the opening of Daddy’s Home 2, starring Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, John Lithgow, and Mel Gibson.
In 2006, Gibson famously went on a profanity-laced, anti-Semitic tirade after being pulled over for suspicion of driving drunk, at one point saying, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” according to police documents. In 2010, Radar Online published an audio tape reportedly of Gibson berating former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, saying, “You look like a f***ing bitch in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault.” In 2011, Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of battering Grigorieva, which allowed him to avoid the possibility of jail time.
Gibson has appeared in other films since then, and was even nominated for a Best Director Oscar for 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge. But Daddy’s Home 2 marks his biggest role since 2011, and his first in a family-friendly film since his no contest plea.
Earlier this week, multiple publications released stories questioning Gibson’s casting. Among their headlines:
- Why Has Hollywood Forgiven Mel Gibson — Again & Again & Again? (Refinery29)
- Hey, Hollywood, How About Not Casting Mel Gibson in Cheery Family Comedies (LA Weekly)
- Hold on, how is Mel Gibson still a thing? (The Mary Sue)
- The unearned Mel Gibson redemption tour (GQ)
- Will Mel Gibson tank Daddy’s Home 2? (Vulture)
While it’s unclear how the spate of bad press will affect the film’s box office haul, the movie definitely has not fared well among critics. One headline trumpeted that “Mel Gibson’s ill-advised move into family comedy has produced the worst movie of the year,” while another said, “In ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ universe, no one acts human and no one is funny.”
At the time of this article’s publication, Daddy’s Home 2 had a 16 percent critic freshness rating on critic aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, which would be one of the worst-reviewed films in Gibson’s, Wahlberg’s, Ferrell’s, and Lithgow’s careers if the rating holds.
