Teddy Joye Hicks Gibson claims her stepson acted like a ‘wild man’ and poses an imminent physical threat to her

Mel Gibson’s stepmother has filed for a temporary restraining order against the actor and director, claiming he acted like a “wild man” in her presence and represents an imminent physical threat.

Teddy Joye Hicks Gibson, 78, was married to Gibson’s 93-year-old father, John Hutton Gibson, until he filed divorce papers against her last month citing irreconcilable differences. The application, filed yesterday in Los Angeles superior court, claims Gibson “and/or his sister (Maura Dunne) manipulated her husband (a devout Catholic) into filing the divorce action against Joye”.

It continues: “Mel, his sister Maura, and Joye disagreed on Hutton’s medical care. And Mel made it clear that Joye’s views on anything were not welcome and only caused him to be irritated and were ignored.”

The application further describes an alleged incident in May 2012 when Mel Gibson became “incensed and began acting like a wild man” around her. Mrs Gibson says she “could feel his spit hitting her face” as the actor screamed at her. She says the encounter left her “nervous, unable to sleep and caused her to lose weight”.

Mrs Gibson describes her stepson as “a very dangerous man” and suggests in the application that “it is only a matter of time before Mel crosses the line even further and physically assaults me”.

The application asks that Mel Gibson stay at least 100 yards away from her at all times and he “not block or interfere with my attempts to communicate with my husband, Hutton Gibson”. It also protests against attempts allegedly made by the actor to evict Mrs Gibson from the home she shared with her husband for five years.

It is not clear whether Mrs Gibson and John Gibson are yet divorced or remain married pending the outcome of his divorce petition. A California judge has decided against a temporary restraining order and ordered a full hearing next month.

Mrs Gibson’s claims are just the latest made about her stepson, who has become a fixture of gossip sites and magazines. The screenwriter Joe Eszterhas claimed Gibson shouted at him and his family and made antisemitic slurs during a high-profile public row with the actor and director earlier this year over an abandoned film project about the ancient Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.

In 2010 Gibson’s ex-partner Oksana Grigorieva accused him of making angry rants against her as their relationship deteriorated. He has struggled to find work in Hollywood since tapes purporting to reveal the verbal attacks were posted on celebrity website Radaronline.com last year and was also dropped by his talent agency, William Morris Endeavor. In 2006 Gibson was caught up in a furore over antisemitic remarks he made to a police officer who arrested him on suspicion of drink driving.

Gibson has apologised repeatedly for all the previous incidents, which he has variously put down to his struggles with alcoholism, manic depression and the breakup of his relationship with Grigorieva. He has so far declined to comment.