Did Mel Gibson release a video of satanic rituals taking place on "Jeffrey Epstein's island"? No, that's not true: "He has nothing to do with this and has no knowledge of it," Gibson's publicist told Lead Stories about a social media post making this claim. There is no evidence given in the post that such a video even exists.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on March 5, 2024. It opened:
BREAKING: MEL GIBSON JUST RELEASED A VIDEO THAT SHOWS THE S@T@N1C RITUALS WHICH TOOK PLACE ON JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S ISLAND!
THE VIDEO WAS RECORDED IN 2010 AND IT FEATURES PRINCE ANDREW, BILL GATES, OPRAH, BARRACK OBAMA AND MANY MORE! YOU DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH!
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken Thurs March 7 16:25:16 UTC 2024)
Gibson's publicist Alan Nierob denied the claim to Lead Stories via email on March 7, 2024, writing:
He has nothing to do with this and has no knowledge of it.
There is no video link in the post and the only link (archived here) goes to a Telegram account using a photo of Gibson that has only two subscribers. Nierob previously told Lead Stories that Gibson does not have any social media accounts under his name.
There is no proof that such a video, as indicated in the post, exists.
The post included a collage of several photos. A Google image search of the photo on the top left corner of the post (archived here) found it's from the movie, "On The Line" (archived here), where Gibson played a radio host facing an anonymous threat.
(Source: X screenshot taken Thurs March 7 16:41:56 UTC 2024)
This is the image on the bottom left corner of the post. It's a compilation of photos that were taken when the FBI raided Epstein's Florida home in 2005 and used as evidence in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial in 2021, as this report in the Daily Mail shows (archived here).
(Source: X screenshot taken Thurs March 7 16:30:28 UTC 2024)
This image of a man squatting on the floor looking at a pentagram is from 1964 and is available for purchase on Getty Images, as a Google search (archived here) shows. The caption on the photo reads:
Ritual markings: Back in 1964; a Star reporter examined a pentagram painted on the floor of a barn l...
CANADA - MAY 12: Ritual markings: Back in 1964; a Star reporter examined a pentagram painted on the floor of a barn loft near Delhi; a tobacco town southwest of London; Ont. Rumors of a satanic cult shook the town. (Photo by Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
(Source: X screenshot taken Thurs March 7 16:35:33 UTC 2024)
Gibson is a frequent target of false claims about his involvement in exposing sex trafficking, satanic rituals and other conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon. Other Lead Stories fact checks about Mel Gibson can be found here.
Lead Stories has debunked the claim that Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama ever visited Epstein's island here and here.
Other Lead Stories fact checks about Jeffrey Epstein can be found here.
