Fan Expo Canada 2026 is still a few months away, and the celebrity guest list is already making headlines…just not for the reasons organizers might have hoped for. On Thursday, the convention announced on X that Mel Gibson will appear at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday, Aug 29, hyping up the Oscar winner around the roles that made him a household name.
“He’s led revolutions, ruled the wasteland, and set the bar for epic storytelling. Mel Gibson’s roles in Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, & Mad Max are more than iconic—they’re legendary. Meet this cinematic hero when he comes to Toronto this August,” the X post stated.
He’s led revolutions, ruled the wasteland, and set the bar for epic storytelling. Mel Gibson’s roles in Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, & Mad Max are more than iconic—they’re legendary. Meet this cinematic hero when he comes to Toronto this August. Get tickets: https://t.co/rRa3m6uyqa pic.twitter.com/hr2wWEdABr
— FANEXPO Canada (@FANEXPOCANADA) April 23, 2026
Gibson is still a recognizable name, but a ton on controversies have followed him in recent years, including his 2006 anti-Semitic remarks during a drunk-driving arrest. He apologized, but was caught spewing racist and sexist language a few years later on leaked recordings involving former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva; there was also a misdemeanour battery case involving Grigorieva.
More recently, some of the loudest criticism has been tied to Gibson’s political orbit. Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump named Gibson one of his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, despite Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign-made films.
So, unsurprisingly, fans of the massive pop culture convention aren’t too happy.
One reply on X called the booking “really questionable” and asked Fan Expo whether it had “any comment for your attendees who are opposed to hate speech.”
“My family was thinking of attending this year, but not anymore,” another user wrote, “please don’t let him close to my city.”
On a Toronto Reddit thread, the criticism was even sharper:
“Besides his antisemitism and other crap, he is also on board Trumps Hollywood tariff train,” one user wrote. “Let alone how that would work this pos is saying let’s f–k our film economy but then at the same time get paid to come here and charge Canadian fans for autograph and pic?”
“Not to shock the Expo organizers, but fandoms are fairly rife with non-whites and people of different sexual orientations; and God forbid (literally) women who work,” another Redditor said. “And for what? To meet the guy who used to be in Lethal Weapon movies? Is there a massive What Women Want fandom I’m unaware of? Just a dumb decision all around.”
“[The Expo] basically runs off of the free labour of volunteers and I know a considerable percentage would absolutely bail with a guest like Mel,” another user wrote.
The price tags aren’t helping either. Gibson’s prices start at $292.88 for a standard autograph or a photo op, and $346.13 for a premium autograph, with extras like JPEG copies, additional prints and authentication stickers costing more.
Fan Expo Canada takes place Aug 27-30, 2026, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. And yes, there will be other celebs in attendance if Gibson isn’t your cup of tea, including Elijah Wood and Sean Astin from The Lord of the Rings, a few actors from the early 2000s hit Lost and Alan Ritchson from Reacher.
