The Oscars are to me what the Super Bowl is to a hardcore football fan.

As a self-proclaimed film geek, I find myself embarrassingly excited any time a red carpet is laid out for the stars to strut upon. Award show days fill me with anticipation: to see what my favorite celebrities have chosen to wear, what bits the host will do in the opening monologue, and, most importantly, who will win the awards. When I was younger, my mom even used to amp up the day. She would make popcorn and watch every minute of the shows with me to keep our spirits running high.

So naturally, when the Oscars rolled around this year, I couldn’t have been more excited. I was so ready to see fantastic, progressive films like “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight” receive the recognition they deserved. I was prepared to start texting all my friends about the tons of actors and actresses that’d make their way to the Dolby Theater on the red carpet, decked out in expensive clothes and wearing their award-winning smiles. Unashamedly, I was glued to red carpet updates for the entirety of my Sunday. I just really wanted to see Meryl Streep!

Unfortunately, I did not see Meryl Streep walking down the red carpet. Instead, my eyes caught Mel Gibson. There he was, warmly received by his peers and interviewers, walking with his newest girlfriend on his arm.

This was the same Mel Gibson who was recorded calling his ex-girlfriend, Oskana Grigoreiva a sexist slur. The same Mel Gibson who said she was going to be “raped” by a group, which he referred to by using a racial slur. He added on that if it happened to her, “it will be your fault. Alright? Because you provoked it.”

Not only was he caught using extremely racist language, but he was also propagating harmful and sexist notions of victim-blaming and slut-shaming. Shortly after this audio clip was released in 2010, Oskana filed charges of domestic violence against Gibson, citing numerous incidents of violence, such as when he punched her in the mouth and knocked out two of her teeth.

But it unfortunately doesn’t end there. On top of his racism and sexism, Gibson is also heavily anti-Semitic. In the most famous example, as an officer arrested Gibson for drunk driving he began to rave about how “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

So I was certainly shocked when I watched Gibson’s interview on “Hacksaw Ridge.” Not a care in the world floated through his eyes as he answered questions about what he was wearing or what it was like to be in the director’s seat. There wasn’t a single word on his abusive behavior and bigoted remarks.

Through the years, Gibson has supplied a plethora of excuses for his behavior. At one point, he cited a poor mental state and claimed he was going through a “rough patch.” But amid those excuses, not one formal apology for his offensive actions could be found.

Yes, those events occurred seven years ago. Yes, it’s important to forgive people and give them second chances. But what’s the point of forgiving someone if he has not apologized, and has made no effort to better himself?

Hollywood has a job — a responsibility, even — to keep in check the people they praise and award. Giving Mel Gibson a platform like the Oscars to make his resurgence into the spotlight inadvertently enables his hateful and harmful actions.

Because more often than not, celebrities greatly influence those who watch them. It’s as though we’re all children, Hollywood stars our parents. And as most children do, we watch our parents closely, and try our hardest to emulate their actions.

So who’s to say that putting Gibson back on the radar without even trying to hold him accountable for his past actions won’t just excuse hateful onlookers for spewing bigotry? After all, there don’t seem to be any consequences for such bigotry if a racist, sexist, anti-Semitic domestic abuser can still make his way to the top and be applauded by all.

I get that Mel Gibson’s bigotry is just a single incident in the grand scheme of life. But incidents like those, no matter how small, aren’t isolated: There’s a trickle-down effect from this kind of behavior. When onlookers see Mel Gibson strutting around free of guilt or regret in the public eye, they may feel any similar actions of theirs are immediately validated.

If we simply stand by and let people, even celebrities, go unpunished, we will have created a society devoid of both safety and acceptance.

Mel Gibson isn’t the only star who’s been conveniently excused for his actions. Casey Affleck won an Oscar this year for his performance in the highly acclaimed “Manchester by the Sea.” However, a former female coworker has sued Affleck for inappropriate sexual behavior and advances, and he has yet to deny these accusations or prove them wrong. No response to, acknowledgment of, or apology for this behavior was given. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

While Affleck is a talented actor, that does not cancel out the bad things he’s done, and the media should not excuse him for that. The primary reason any attention was brought to the issue was because Brie Larson, an actress and advocate for sexual assault survivors, refused to clap as he accepted his award, and people wondered why.

While celebrities like Mel Gibson may cast an ugly shadow over society, it is important to let the ones like Brie Larson — the ones who embody good values — empower us to do good in our everyday lives.