Actor and Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson was spotted giving a military salute to former President Donald Trump at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match Saturday in Las Vegas.
The “Hacksaw Ridge” director was filmed making the gesture and saying something to Mr. Trump as the former president made his way through the crowd at T-Mobile Arena before Conor McGregor’s loss to Dustin Poirier, Snopes confirmed Monday.
Mr. Gibson later tweeted a video of himself attending the fight with his three sons, Ed, Will and Tommy, but he did not comment on seeing the former president.
A video posted to the UFC Australia Twitter page showed Mr. Gibson saying, “I don’t care who wins, I just want to see a good match. And I’m sure it will be.”
Saturday’s UFC 264 fight ended abruptly after Mr. McGregor suffered a broken leg in the first round.
Mr. Gibson was criticized for saluting Mr. Trump, who still argues that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election.
Mr. Gibson has not been openly political throughout his career and has not publicly supported Mr. Trump, but critics of his salute tied it to his history of making homophobic and antisemitic comments in the early 1990s and mid-2000s.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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