We almost had Mel Gibson as the Grand Marshal of Endymion this Mardi Gras. Or co-Grand Marshal, as Tulane head coach Willie Fritz was going to be the other co-Grand Marshal.

Almost, that is, because the cancel mob put a stop to it as soon as it was announced.

Just 16 hours after announcing actor-director Mel Gibson would ride with the Krewe of Endymion as co-Grand Marshal of their 2023 Mardi Gras parade, the krewe rescinded the decision Sunday afternoon.

In a statement Sunday, Endymion captain Dan Kelly cited safety issues and “threats” as the reason for removing Gibson from the parade, according to WVUE.

The krewe announced at their annual coronation ball Saturday night that Gibson would join Tulane University football coach Willie Fritz as co-Grand Marshal, leading Endymion and its more than 3,000 riding members on its Carnival parade set to roll on Saturday, Feb. 18.

The inclusion of the 67-year-old Academy Award winner was a polarizing choice for many, according to the news outlet.

Gibson rose to fame as an actor in the “Mad Max” and “Lethal Weapon” franchises, and was awarded People Magazine’s first-ever “Sexiest Man Alive” title in 1985. He won his first Best Director Oscar and a new level of cachet helming and starring in 1995’s Best Picture winner “Braveheart.”

But Gibson’s status in Hollywood declined with a series of controversies and legal troubles that included a misdemeanor domestic battery conviction, and statements in which he assailed Jews, homosexuals and used racial epithets.

Gibson apologized for many of the incidents and remarks, attributing some of his behavior to a history of alcohol abuse that he said dated to his early teens, WVUE reports.

Here was the statement Endymion’s krewe put out…

The Krewe of Endymion has received significant feedback about our grand marshall announcement yesterday evening. Some of this commentary included threats that cause us great concern.

In the best interest of the safety of our riders, special guests and everyone that welcomes us on the streets, Mel Gibson will not ride as a co-Grand Marshal for our 2023 parade.

We appreciate the cooperation of the city in addressing the issues that will allow us to present another wonderful parade this year along our entire route. We will move forward with our final preparations in the coming weeks for the largest procession in Carnival.

Boy, there’s a lot loaded into that statement, isn’t there?

“Threats that cause us great concern?” Seems like you’d call the State Police or the FBI about those, right? And especially the NOPD.

And then in the “best interest” of the riders, VIP’s and folks in the streets there won’t be any Mel Gibson.

THEN there’s a reference to the “cooperation” of the city of New Orleans in making it possible for Endymion to ride its full route.

Perhaps this is too much reading between the lines, but frankly what this comes off as is an SOS from Endymion.

Did the City of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, mayor, threaten to pull the NOPD off Endymion if the “racist” Mel Gibson was riding as co-Grand Marshal? Were other official threats made against the parade in an effort to cancel Gibson?

Or were those threats made by others?

The same people who threw fits over the invitation of Gibson were throwing them last year over New Orleans native and Fox News host Raymond Arroyo being named Grand Marshal. Arroyo has never been accused of saying racist or anti-semitic things; they just didn’t like him because he’s a religious conservative.

Obviously Gibson, whose cancellation isn’t complete enough to satisfy the Left or the Tear It Down mob in New Orleans, would then be too much for any of them to handle.

That should be a feature, rather than a bug, for the Endymion folks. Especially since Arroyo’s ride went off quite well last year despite the “controversy” over his being named.

But the fact that the invitation was rescinded just hours after it was made, based on “threats” to the parade, makes us think this is more than just a bunch of trolls on Twitter throwing tantrums.

And we’d like to know what conversations the city of New Orleans might have had with Endymion’s leadership yesterday.