Mel Gibson Was Hospitalized for Coronavirus

Mel Gibson privately was hospitalized for COVID-19 earlier this year. The controversial actor was hospitalized in the U.S. back in April after testing positive for the coronavirus, as first reported by The Daily Telegraph Australia. The 64-year-old was hospitalized for at least a week after testing positive, battling the illness in private. He has since tested negative for the virus several times, a rep for Gibson told the outlet.

"He tested positive in April and spent a week in the hospital," the rep said, sharing of Gibson's treatment that the director "was treated with the drug Remdesivir while in the hospital." They continued, "[He] has tested negative numerous times since then as well as positive for the antibodies." Gibson is just one of the more than 4.1 million cases of the disease in the U.S., which has seen more than 147,000 deaths in just the past five months — more than the total number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War.

Actor Tom Hanks was the first A-list celebrity to test positive for the virus back in March alongside wife Rita Wilson, and both have since made a full recovery. In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this month, Hanks chastised people who refuse to wear a mask in public, as recommended by health officials, to help stem the spread of the disease. "I simply do not get it. It is, literally, the least you can do," he said.

The Castaway star continued, "If anybody wants to build up an argument about doing the least they could do, I wouldn't trust them with a driver's license. I mean, when you drive a car you gotta obey speed limits, you gotta use your turn signal, [and] you gotta avoid hitting pedestrians. If you can't do those three things, then I get it, you shouldn't be driving a car. If you can't wear a mask and wash your hands and social distance, I don't understand. I got no respect for you. I don't buy your argument."

He reiterated that point on the TODAY show. "I don't know how common sense has somehow been put in question, in regards to [wearing a mask in public]," Hanks said. "There's a darkness on the edge of town here, folks Let's not confuse the fact. It's killing people. You can say, 'Well, traffic accidents kill a lot of people too.' But traffic accidents happen because a lot of drivers aren't doing their part. They're not using their turn signals. They're driving too fast, they're not paying attention."