Report: Racism Claim Leads To Gibson Outburst

An assistant college professor's charges of racism led to a reported outburst by filmmaker Mel Gibson during a question-and-answer session Thursday night on a California college campus.

According to TMZ.com, Gibson was talking with a film class about his Mayan epic "Apocalypto" at California State University at Northridge in the San Fernando Valley. The site said that Alicia Estrada, an assistant professor of Central American Studies at the college, said that the bloodthirsty tendencies of the Mayans in the film were wrong and racist.

Gibson responded angrily by saying, "Lady, f--- off," TMZ reported.

The site reported that several members of the Mayan community came to hear Gibson and also protested their ancestor's portrayal of the movie. Those people were escorted out of the room as Gibson shouted, "Make your own movie," TMZ said.

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Interview:

Mel Gibson Discusses Violence In 'Apocalypto'

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TMZ said Gibson's representative was not available for comment.

The director has been under intense scrutiny since late July following a highly publicized anti-Semitic tirade following an arrest on suspicion of drunken driving in May. Gibson apologized to the Jewish community and entered rehab in the wake of the incident.

"Apocalypto" opened in theaters in December and went on to earn three Oscar nominations in the technical categories. The movie made nearly $51 million at the North American box office and an additional $63 million overseas.