He’s stepped in it.
Andrew Garfield has voiced support for Mel Gibson — and social media isn’t happy.
In a recent interview with People, Garfield, 41, who starred in the 2016 Gibson directed-movie “Hacksaw Ridge,” said about working with Gibson, 68, “I learned a lot, actually. I learned that people can heal. I learned that people can change, that people can get help. I learned that everyone deserves respect.”
“Hacksaw Ridge” was a World War II drama that earned a slew of Oscar nominations, including a Best Actor nomination for Garfield.
Continuing, the “Under The Banner of Heaven” actor said he’d learned working with Gibson “that people deserve second chances, third chances, fourth chances. That none of us are infallible.”
“No no no no Andrew,” one fan said on X, formerly Twitter.
Another critic wrote, “I love Andrew — but no on Gibson. And I’m sad that Andrew is making excuses for him.”
Another fan sneered, “Fourth chances??? Who gives someone a fourth chance?? At that point you are a f – – kin rube.”
The “Amazing Spider-Man” star, who is Jewish, said he had “deep, important conversations” with Gibson, who made antisemitic remarks in 2006 when he was arrested for a DUI.
Garfield continued, “He’s done a lot of beautiful healing with himself… he’s an amazing filmmaker, and I think he deserves to make films. He deserves to tell stories, because he has a very, very big, compassionate heart.”
After the “Braveheart” actor’s 2006 arrest, he issued a public apology stating, “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.”
In a 2020 interview with The Sunday Times, Winona Ryder, who is also Jewish, was asked if she has experienced antisemitism in the industry.
She cited Gibson as an example.
“We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends,” she said. “And Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar, and we’re all talking and he said to my friend, who’s gay, ‘Oh wait, am I gonna get AIDS?’ And then something came up about Jews, and he said, ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?’”
Garfield recalled Gibson’s “empathy” to People.
“He’s the kind of director that would come from behind the monitors, just with his eyes wet,” the “We Live in Time” star said.
Garfield added, “He knew when it was right and he knew when it wasn’t right. And I just really trusted him. And he’s a visceral storyteller so he can feel … He’s like he can’t help but feel everything. He’s a real empathetic guy.”
Another critic, meanwhile, added of Garfield: “Bro you were doing so well for like a minute there.”