One Star Hit by COVID Flew Under the Radar, Until Now

64-year-old star was hospitalized for week in April with the virus but has since recovered
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 24, 2020 11:26 AM CDT
No One Knew Mel Gibson Had the Virus
In this Nov. 16, 2017, file photo, Mel Gibson arrives at the premiere of "Daddy's Home 2" in London.   (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

For anyone keeping track of the celebrities and other well-known figures who've been stricken with the coronavirus, there's a new one for your list—and he managed to fly under the radar for months. A representative for Mel Gibson confirms the 64-year-old actor and director was hospitalized in California for a week in April for COVID-19, the New York Times reports. Gibson was treated with the drug remdesivir during his stay and recovered, the rep says, adding Gibson has had multiple negative virus tests since. He has also tested positive for antibodies, the rep says, per Us Weekly, which notes remdesivir is the first drug shown to be effective in treating the virus.

Maybe Gibson's condition evaded detection because he hasn't been around much: The Guardian notes he hasn't had much work on the big screen of late, though controversy still seems to follow him. Last month, Winona Ryder doubled down on previous claims she'd made a decade ago that the Braveheart star had made homophobic and anti-Semitic comments, which Gibson continues to deny. Gibson had been the focus of backlash for going on a drunken rant in 2006 while being arrested on a DUI charge, making similar anti-Semitic and also misogynistic remarks. He also has a history of making racial slurs. He'd been on his way to a comeback of sorts over the past few years, earning six Oscar nominations and two wins for his 2017 movie Hacksaw Ridge. He also said in 2016 that he'd been sober for a decade. (More Mel Gibson stories.)

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