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Seth Rogen Reacts To Mel Gibson Being Cast As Santa Claus

By Kristy Puchko | Film | May 9, 2019 |

By Kristy Puchko | Film | May 9, 2019 |


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Mel Gibson is doing fine. Mel Gibson, the two-time Academy Award-winner who declared during a 2006 DUI arrest, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world!” Mel Gibson, the ’80s action icon who called the female officer arresting him “sugar tits.” Mel Gibson, the world-famous actor/writer/director who told his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in an abusive and racist rant, “You look like a f*cking pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n*****s, it will be your fault.” That Mel Gibson is doing fine. Sure he was out of the spotlight for a spell. But then he came roaring back into Hollywood’s good graces with Hacksaw Ridge, for which he was nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Since then, Gibson has parlayed his history of anti-Semitic, sexist, racist, and homophobic comments into a marketable bad boy image with roles in Machete Kills, The Expendables 3, and Daddy’s Home 2. And now, he’s set to play Santa, because 2019 is a hellscape.

THR reports the belligerent bigot is attached to play “a rowdy, unorthodox Santa” in Fatman, an action-comedy where a 12-year-old boy hires a hitman to kill Santa. The film is looking to lens in Canada in early 2020, and for now is headed to the Cannes Film Festival market. Ian and Eshom Nelms will direct the film based on their original script. Fatman will also have the advantage of executive producers who have name recognition and comedy clout, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride.

If you’re surprised by this trio choosing to work with Gibson, you’re not alone. We are too. And so—it seems—is Seth Rogen.

Rogen has worked with Green (Pineapple Express), Hill (Observe and Report), and McBride (Pineapple Express, This Is The End, The Disaster Artist). But that didn’t stop him from speaking out on this controversial Fatman casting. Rogen took a break from promoting his new rom-com The Long Shot to weigh in swiftly and sharply on Gibson’s latest role.

Rogen was not alone. The replies to THR’s initial tweet are filled with people expressing shock and displeasure. You can find some cheering for Gibson, but the most vocal contingent are those outraged by a virulently bigoted and abusive actor playing Santa Claus.



Header Image Source: Getty