Robert Downey Jr. was the poster boy for canceled because he defended Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson praises 'kind' Robert Downey Jr. for defending him when he was 'poster boy for canceled' Mel Gibson is forever grateful for his "Air in America" co-star after his 2006 arrest in Malibu. The Oscar winner defended him following his arrest in 2006.

Mel Gibson has admitted that he and Robert Downey Jr. constantly saved themselves from being “nonexistent and blacklisted" The pair has a shared history of “falling off the wagon," with Gibson's alcoholism and Downey's history of substance abuse. Gibson has said the only reason they have survived their troubles and continued is that they wouldn't exist without each other.