"The chickens have survived, it was amazing" — Mel Gibson says his Malibu mansion burned down while he was filming Joe Rogan's podcast

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Mel Gibson joined Joe Rogan on his podcast, where the two talked about the raging LA wildfires. According to The National Newsdesk, they "lambasted" the governor of California, talking about Newsom's alleged contributing role in the wildfires.

The Mad Max actor told News Nation that he had flown into Austin, Texas, where Rogan is based, for the podcast. As Gibson returned home after the podcast, the actor-filmmaker found his mansion in Malibu burned down with nothing surviving except for the chickens in his coop.

Mel said the wildfires hadn't started then, but the winds "were picking up" in Malibu. He added:

"I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire. So, I thought, 'I wonder if my place is still there.' When I got home, sure enough, it wasn't there... The vehicles were gone, everything. It was completely toasted. I've never seen such a complete burn. It's like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it."

Mel Gibson then shared some surprising good news he found upon returning home. Despite the damage done by the fire, his chickens were unharmed. The 69-year-old said:

"It was amazing. We checked the chicken coop, and they were fine. So, we gave them some grain and water, and they are happy and laying eggs... they weren't roast chickens."

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Mel Gibson spent almost 15 years in his Malibu home

According to Page Six, Mel Gibson's Malibu property is estimated to be worth $14.5 million, and the actor spent almost 15 years in it. Finding his home "perfectly burnt" was a "devastating" and "emotional" experience for Gibson, who told News Nation:

"It was home to me, and I had a lot of personal things there that, you know, I can't get back. All kinds of stuff. Everything from photographs to files to, you know, just personal things that I had from over the years, and clothing, and you know, cool stuff."

In his interview, Mel Gibson focused on the positive takeaways from the incident, sharing that as long as all his loved ones were safe and sound, his lost belongings could all be replaced. Cracking some jokes about it thereafter, the Hacksaw Ridge director said:

"I've been relieved from the burden of my stuff because it's all in cinders... I went home, and I said to myself, 'Well, at least I haven't got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.'"

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Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan lambasted Governor Gavin Newsom on the latter's podcast

On Thursday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Mel Gibson and the podcaster discussed the raging LA wildfires, which have led thousands of residents to evacuate their homes this week. Per The National News Desk, Rogan claimed that the wildfires appeared to be linked with the state prioritizing homelessness instead of fire protection.

Joe said:

"They spent $24 billion last year on the homeless, and what did they spend on preventing these wildfires? Zip."

Mel Gibson responded with:

"In 2019, Newsom said, 'we're going to take care of the forests, maintain the forests,' he didn't do anything... It's all funny, and I think all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin's hair gel."

Rogan continued to add that Governor Newsom was more concerned about presenting an optimistic outlook about the state in the media than solving the pressing issues California was dealing with.

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Per the news outlet, Governor Newsom has also been criticized by Donald Trump on social media. The President-elect had asked him to resign.