Checked 18 August 2026
We checked
Claim: Mel Gibson has become an authority on pharmaceuticals
No — he isn't one, and nothing has made him one; he's an actor who told an anecdote about three friends on a podcast, with no clinical evidence behind it. The concern behind your question is valid: that anecdote measurably drove up real prescriptions, which researchers point to as celebrity influence overriding evidence-based medicine, not expertise.
Claim: Mel Gibson has become an authority on pharmaceuticals
No — the evidence is against itGibson is an actor with no medical, scientific, or pharmaceutical credentials; his sole basis for the ivermectin/fenbendazole cancer claims was an anecdote about three friends on Joe Rogan's podcast, and researchers note that no clinical trials have shown these drugs are safe or effective for treating cancer in humans. The episode nonetheless drove a real-world spike in prescriptions, which the study's authors frame as a case of celebrity influence overriding evidence-based medicine rather than Gibson possessing any actual expertise.
ReferencesGibson tells Joe Rogan that ivermectin and fenbendazole cured three friends' stage 4 cancer, saying "This stuff works, man," while both men voiced distrust of the pharmaceutical industry.
Clips of the interview spread rapidly on social media and the full episode drew over 5.8 million YouTube views, pushing the claim far beyond its original context.
The Canadian Cancer Society publicly stated that Gibson had promoted drugs that are not scientifically proven cancer treatments and called it dangerous and irresponsible.
A Virginia Tech-led study using health records from over 68 million patients found ivermectin prescribing among cancer patients rose more than 2.5 times after Gibson's remarks, tripling in the South, which renewed news coverage of the episode.
The comment reacts to Mel Gibson's January 9, 2025 appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," where he told Rogan that ivermectin and fenbendazole (an antiparasitic and a dewormer) cured three friends of stage 4 cancer, despite no clinical evidence in humans. The clip went viral, prompting a rebuke from the Canadian Cancer Society, and a subsequent study found ivermectin prescriptions among cancer patients more than doubled in the following months, which is likely what prompted someone to forward this claim.
ReferencesReviewed 17 September 2026 — nothing had changed.
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