When, earlier this year, that story emerged about Mel Gibson’s alleged racist and sexist rants, more cynical pundits argued that it would take mere minutes for the star to be welcomed back into the Hollywood fold.

It seems, however, as if some of his colleagues are not proving so forgiving. Gibson had been slated to take a cameo role in The Hangover 2– sequel to one the biggest films ever in Ireland – but protests from cast and crew have forced the film-makers to change their minds. Todd Phillips, the picture's director, explained that, whereas his producers had liked the idea, the casting decision "ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew".

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Phillips sounded positively mournful about the business. "He's one of our finest actors and, quite honestly, one of our finest directors," he continued. "But The Hangover 2is a family, and as much as I loved the idea, a lot of people didn't. I didn't want anything to come in between that family."

Elsewhere, recalling Gibson’s drunken anti-Semitic remarks to a police officer in 2006, Zach Galifianakis, one of The Hangover stars, joked that Phillips was “the worst Jew in Hollywood”. The irony here is that Gibson is occupying the cameo seat that was taken by Mike Tyson in the first film. Tyson, remember, was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years in prison for the offence. It’s a messy, messy business.