HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Winona Ryder claims she knew Mel Gibson had a dark side well before the actor's reputation was tarnished.
In a new interview with GQ magazine, the 39-year-old actress recalls an incident with Gibson that took place about 15 years ago.
"I was at one of those big Hollywood parties. And he was really drunk," she explains. "I was with my friend, who's gay. He made a really horrible gay joke. And somehow it came up that I was Jewish. He said something about 'oven dodgers,' but I didn't get it. I'd never heard that before. It was just this weird, weird moment. I was like, 'He's anti-Semitic and he's homophobic.' No one believed me!"
Gibson's career took a hit after he famously made anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 DUI arrest. Like him, Ryder has endured her own personal struggles, including a mental hospital stay for anxiety and depression in the early 1990s.
"I got really wiped out, and I had a semi-breakdown. I wasn't sleeping, I didn't know who I was because of different roles," she says. "I don't know who that is anymore."
Ryder was also famously arrested for shoplifting in 2001, but her career is on the upswing thanks to her role in the acclaimed movie Black Swan. Looking back on her career, she can see how times have changed with Natalie Portman getting the lead in the ballet thriller.
"I thought it was a cool parallel," she says. "Being replaced by the young thing. I know that definitely happens in Hollywood. It's harder to find good roles, and suddenly there's new girls. I'm at that age I've been warned my whole life about."
Also see: Winona Ryder Pictures
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