Mel Gibson has apologized after video from his appearance at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto appeared to show the 70-year-old actor and filmmaker mocking an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter as he walked onstage on Saturday, August 29, 2026, for a career retrospective Q&A.
The “Braveheart” Oscar winner put out a statement on Monday, August 31, after clips of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre panel circulated widely online and drew several days of criticism. Gibson blamed the moment on “spontaneous thoughtless idiocy,” saying that being shoved into a spotlight can scatter a performer’s thinking.
“There was no intended maliciousness attached, and I certainly apologize to anyone who was upset by it,” Gibson told People in a statement.
What the Viral Clip Shows
The video shows Gibson emerging from behind a curtain and flicking his hands in a brief imitation of the interpreter stationed on the platform before he drops into his seat in front of the crowd. It is over quickly: the footage lasts roughly one to three seconds, with the actor making rapid gestures behind the interpreter’s back as he walks by.
The clip’s brevity did not soften the response. After it spread on X and other platforms, users called the behavior disappointing and casually cruel, and some extended their criticism to Fan Expo for handing the controversial star a marquee slot. One X user said it is always disheartening to watch their language mocked, pointing to how hard the deaf community works to see ASL recognized and taken seriously.
Users also passed around a counterexample from the same convention: an Instagram post in which “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson is seen shaking hands with that same ASL interpreter while leaving the stage to applause after his own session. That side-by-side contrast turned into a recurring theme in posts about the weekend.
Inside the Toronto Q&A
Until the clip dominated the conversation, the panel was a fairly routine tour of Gibson’s filmography. Moderator Liam Crowley led him through “Mad Max,” “Lethal Weapon” and other titles from a decades-long career in front of and behind the camera.
Gibson also teased details about his two-part follow-up to 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Lionsgate is releasing “The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One” in theaters May 6, 2027, with “The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two” scheduled for May 25, 2028. Gibson recently wrapped production on the project.
Fan Expo Canada, which ran through Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, promotes itself as the biggest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming convention in the country, and the third-largest pop culture event on the continent. Gibson’s autograph and photo opportunities at the expo were priced at $275 each, according to the event’s website.
The Toronto stop was part of a busy summer on the convention circuit for Gibson. He appeared at FanExpo Chicago 2026 on August 15, and earlier attended Fan Expo Boston, where he made headlines explaining why “Lethal Weapon 5” was never made. Gibson also appeared as a guest at MegaCon Orlando on February 7, 2025.
A Long History of Controversy
For decades, Gibson has been dealing with the fallout from his own behavior. He was arrested in 2006 during a drunken-driving stop, and the antisemitic comments he made about Jewish people that night severely damaged his standing in Hollywood. Leaked audio later caught him unleashing a racist, misogynistic tirade at his then-girlfriend, the mother of his newborn child.
Responses to the Fan Expo clip fell along familiar lines. Some commenters suggested Gibson believed he was being funny rather than cruel — a defense that, in one commenter’s words, would make him a fool rather than a villain. Others took issue with the phrasing of the statement, arguing that apologizing to anyone who was upset is not the same as apologizing for what he did.
Sequels and Thrillers Ahead
The timing is uncomfortable for a star in the middle of an image-sensitive comeback. “The Passion of the Christ” took in $612 million worldwide and held the title of highest-grossing R-rated movie for nearly two decades, and the two-part sequel is Gibson’s best chance at reaching that level of box office success again.
The actor remains busy on screen as well. The father of nine starred in last year’s “Hunting Season,” and his coming projects include the thrillers “The Canyon” and “Coyote.”
For the moment, the cleanup rests with Gibson’s representatives, who have been handling the response to the Toronto incident while the clip continues to circulate. Gibson addressed it in his August 31 statement; the first “Resurrection” installment is due in theaters May 6, 2027.