Mel Gibson didn’t reject a $100 million Netflix deal to work with Robert De Niro; that’s satire

In 2008, Robert De Niro walked out of a film shoot with Mel Gibson, citing “creative differences.” De Niro’s presence on set for that movie, “Edge of Darkness,” lasted less than a week.

Now, a Facebook user claims there’s more friction between the two Hollywood stars.

“BREAKING: Mel Gibson passes on $100 million Netflix deal to work with Robert De Niro, declares: ‘Keep that woke clown away from me,’” a Feb. 12 Facebook post read.

 (Screenshot from Facebook)

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

But that claim originated from satire. SpaceXMania, a satirical website, published an article Dec. 19, 2024, with the title, “Mel Gibson Rejects $100M Netflix Offer, Refuses to Work with ‘Woke’ Robert De Niro.”

“This is SATIRE, It’s Not TRUE,” a statement at the end of the article said. The site’s “About Us” page says it brings people “the freshest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a good dose of satire.”

The same day, another satirical website called Esspotsd — which says it is a subsidiary of SpaceXMania — published a similar article.

Alan Nierob, Gibson’s publicist, told PolitiFact, “None of this is true.” PolitiFact also contacted De Niro’s publicist but did not hear back.

We also found no news reports that Gibson rejected a Netflix deal for a movie with De Niro, and Reuters debunked a variation of this claim in May 2024. PolitiFact debunked and rated False a similar claim that Warner Bros. canceled a $10 million project with De Niro because he was “woke.”

Likewise, we rate the claim that Gibson rejected a $100 million Netflix deal to work with De Niro False.

By

Loreben Tuquero

Staff writer

February 17, 2025

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• This claim originated from satire.

Statement

“Mel Gibson passes on $100 million Netflix deal to work with Robert De Niro, declares: ‘Keep that woke clown away from me.’”

Context

a Facebook post

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

February 12, 2025