Mel Gibson isn't an anti-Semite, says his long-time friend Terry Hayes.

The screenwriter, who wrote "Payback" for the Hollywood star, has defended Gibson who has been accused of making racist comments on several occasions, reports contactmusic.com.

Terry told a newspaper: ''We all have to take responsibility for what we say and do. All I can say is, in over 30 years of knowing Mel, I've never heard him say anything anti-Semitic. But the human organism is not adapted to celebrity..."