Winona Ryder performed in some of the best modern classics of the late 20
th century –
Reality Bites, Heathers, Mermaids– the list goes on and on. But her superstardom and unquestioned talent haven’t saved her from the insidious undercurrent of antisemitism that runs through Hollywood, and that’s something she recently decided to speak openly about.“I have… in interesting ways,” she said in conversation with
The Sunday Times about experiencing antisemitism as a Jewish woman. “There are times when people have said, ‘Wait, you’re Jewish? But you’re so pretty!’”
The Stranger Things and
Black Swan actress, who clarified that she’s not religious but she does identify with the Jewish identity, went on to say, “There was a movie that I was up for a long time ago, it was a period piece, and the studio head, who was Jewish, said I looked ‘too Jewish’ to be in a blue-blooded family.” That prejudiced feedback didn’t stop Ryder – who was born as Winona Laura Horowitz -- from performing in some of the most iconic period pieces, including
The Age of Innocence, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and 1994’s
Little Women.That unnamed studio head clearly had a lot in common with actor/director Mel Gibson, whom Ryder revealed made some derogatory and prejudiced remarks to her one night at an event. “We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends, 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?'”The
Mad Max and
Lethal Weapon star famously ruined his career after a string of antisemitic, sexist, and racist outbursts, some of which were made during
his arrest for impaired driving in 2006, and others
during a recorded phone call with his then-partner Oksana Grigorieva.“It’s a hard thing for me to talk about,” Ryder clarified when asked about her connection to her Jewish roots, “because I had family who died in the camps, so I’ve always been fascinated with that time.”Ryder admitted that the
Braveheart star tried to apologize at a later date, but emphasis was put on “tried.” She had previously spoken about this incident with Gibson around
10 years ago, right around the time Gibson’s angry recorded phone calls with his partner were leaked to the press. Her account of the interaction hasn’t changed since, but she did note in 2010 that Gibson was “really drunk” when he made the comments.Gibson’s late father, the author Hutton Red Gibson, once said in an interview that he believed the Holocaust
was fiction.[video_embed id='1982699']Before you go: '30 Rock' episodes featuring blackface being pulled[/video_embed]
