Did Zach Galifianakis get Mel Gibson kicked off The Hangover 2?

Earlier this week it was revealed that Mel “You should ****ing smile and **** me!” Gibson would have a cameo in The Hangover 2 as a tattoo artist. Well, not anymore!

TMZ are now reporting that Gibson has been cut from the movie at the behest of the protesting cast and crew.

Director Todd Phillips released the following statement in response:

“I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the full backing of [Warner Bros President] Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew.”

So, which members of the cast were upset by Gibson’s involvement? Vulture suspects it might be star Zach Galifianakis!

Around the same time as the cameo’s shooting, Galifiankis told Comedy Death-Ray podcast host Scott Aukerman that he was “in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something.”

He added:

“I can’t get the guys to [listen] … I’m not making any leeway.”

Well, if he was indeed talking about Gibson, I guess the guys finally listened.

The Hangover 2 is currently shooting in Thailand.

Discuss: We now live in a universe where Zack Galifianakis has more pull than Mel Gibson. Wow.