Originally Posted By FaMulan On the news yesterday morning, they read from the arrest report. What was reported was definitely anti-Jewish and I will not repeat it here. Gibson has since stated his regret on the subject and blamed it on his personal battle with alcoholism. Still doesn't make me like him as a person, though I used to like him as an actor/director.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I didn't see anyone celebrating anything or turning it into anything political until Beau checked in on #5 with his usual tripe.
Originally Posted By DAR <<Gibson has since stated his regret on the subject and blamed it on his personal battle with alcoholism. Still doesn't make me like him as a person, though I used to like him as an actor/director.>> Well at least he was man enough to admit what he did was wrong. It doesn't make it right what he said, but in a town full of egos that could be a start.
Originally Posted By mele He only apologized because he was caught. He told the officer that he "owned Malibu" and would spend all of his money to get even with the officer. GMAB, his ego is clearly way out of whack. I also believe that he finally showed his true colors (as many of us do when we are drunk) by what he said about Jews. I won't pay to see any of his films ever again. According to wikipedia.org, in December 2005, it was announced that Gibson will produce a television movie about Dutch Jewish Holocaust survivor Flory Van Beek. I'm sure that will be an interesting project, especially now that we know he thinks the Jews are to blame for all of the wars in the world. (Sorry, Fa, I'm only mentioning it because some websites are only alluding to his comments and some other people are saying the comments weren't anti-Semitic at all.)
Originally Posted By ecdc Actually, I read Mel's apology that he released. It's pretty dang heartfelt and sincere - at least as I read it. He ponied up and admitted he was wrong and apologized big time to the police. You can tell it wasn't gone over with a fine tooth comb by a lawyer or publicist. It was just sincere in acknowledging his struggles with alcoholism and his mistake. He still seems wacky, but I give him props for his apology.
Originally Posted By DAR While the comments he made should be condemned I think the fact the he was driving drunk is the greater of two evils.
Originally Posted By lasvegasgirl let's hope he can fix what has been done.. I always really liked him.....
Originally Posted By HyperTyper >>>The darling of the Christian right! Mel Gibson is hardly that. First of all, I'm unaware of any "darlings" the "Christian Right" has beyond the Bible. While Gibson made a popular religious movie, he has also been a typical Hollywood actor, making films in the past both violent, vulgar and sexual. Many Christians felt that "The Passion of the Christ" was unneccessarily violent. I'm one of them, and did not see it. Painting all conservative Christians as being in love with Mel Gibson is like saying liberals are in love with the Clintons. Many are obviously not. About Gibson's behavior: From what I hear, he (by his own admission) did and said some pretty horrible things on his arrest. His apology seems pretty blunt. I can't judge its sincerity (it could be genuinely felt or genuine PR damage control). What I do believe is that when people are drunk, relaxed inhibitions lead them to say what they truly think. So if he said some anti-semitic things, a simple denial that he actually believes what he said isn't going to cut it. As far as I'm concerned, if someone says something stupid when they're drunk, they meant it. Mel Gibson is in big trouble. An apology is nice and forgiveness is in order, but his behavior is in direct conflict with what supposedly good people stand for. He's going to have to work hard and long to restore the lost trust, credibility and respect. Almost as disgusting, though, is the glee being shown by people who equate Gibson with the "Christian right" and who portray this as smoking-gun evidence of the "hypocrisy" of their polticial and social opposites. There is nothing either Christian or respectable about dancing on someone else's wrongs and embarrassing behavior. It was in poor taste to celebrate Bill Clinton's philandering, and it's pretty cold to do it now with Mel Gibson's bad behavior.
Originally Posted By DAR ^^^ Good points. Apparently the audio of said tirade is floating around. This could be the Lee Elia of Hollywood tirades.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^^^^^^^ Our obsession with what 'celebrities' say or do has always amazed me...and while I believe from what snipets have worked there way into the daily news that what he said would be dead wrong...with all going on in the world, I just don't think what Mel Gibson says or thinks is worthy of all the coverage he is getting....
Originally Posted By HyperTyper >>> Apparently the audio of said tirade is floating around. This could be the Lee Elia of Hollywood tirades. I feel stupid. Who is Lee Elia? >>> No celebrity is worth any of the coverage they get. True. And yet it's our own fault. I admit I wouldn't really care about a story on a drunken fit by Arthur Jones of Omaha, Nebraska. A story automatically gets more interest when the subject is known to the readers ... which, by definition, will be a celebrity. And the people who become famous for the right reasons (good behavior) want privacy and avoid attention. So that just how it's going to be, I'm afraid.
Originally Posted By DAR <<I feel stupid. Who is Lee Elia?>> No problem. Lee Elia was a former Cubs manager who about twentysome years ago went on a profanity laced tirade against some Cubs fans who were booing the time after a loss to the Dodgers. The Cubs dropped to 5-14 at the time. Vbdad55 did I get that right?
Originally Posted By DAR Hyper to get to your other point, you're right a story about a celebrity getting in trouble sells more. If it wouldn't the US Weekly's and In Touch Magazine's would be defunct. FWIW when I read any of those magazines I actually feel dumber.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Our obsession with what 'celebrities' say or do has always amazed me...and while I believe from what snipets have worked there way into the daily news that what he said would be dead wrong...with all going on in the world, I just don't think what Mel Gibson says or thinks is worthy of all the coverage he is getting....>> That's for sure. But I'm not surprised by Mel's anti-semitic tirade. I mean this is a guy whose daddy stated he thought the Holocaust was highly exaggerated. I won't discuss the Passion film because I didn't see it, not because of who made it but because the subject matter didn't sound like a fun escapist night at the movies. Mel can backpeddle all he wants, but when you're drunk out of your mind you tend to speak from your heart. I think Mel's is quite black. But I'll bet you anything he keeps cashing his 'Jew' paychecks from the Hollywood idiot execs that pay him as a 'talent.'
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <<<I feel stupid. Who is Lee Elia?>> No problem. Lee Elia was a former Cubs manager who about twentysome years ago went on a profanity laced tirade against some Cubs fans who were booing the time after a loss to the Dodgers. The Cubs dropped to 5-14 at the time. Vbdad55 did I get that right? < you did indeed...the Cubs were losing all the time ( nothing new) and very few people were at the park ( unlike now ) and Lee Elia got tired of the booing and went off on a reporter...I didn't know you could use the f word that many times in 30 seconds...George Carlin would have blushed.. It still makes the rounds on Chicago sports talk radio- and is still funny. btw.. in case I didn't mention it anywhere else...as a life long Cub fan I couldnot be more dismayed with the freakin' Tribune Company for allowing Greg Maddux to leave town again....Wal Mart's mgmt has nothing on the dumb a mgmt team they have assembled there...if they don;t sell soon, they will be what kills the Cubs, not the futility record.
Originally Posted By RC Collins Let me start off by saying I despise prejudice and bigotry. I think any Christian who maligns "the Jews" doesn't know their own Bible. Jesus was (and is) a Jew who followed Jewish customs and quoted Jewish Scripture. However, I find it laughable that "Hollywood" embraces child molesters like Roman Polanski and Victor Salva (I hope I got that name right...at least Salva served his time) and that it is apparently not that bad to be driving drunk or commit all sorts of other dangerous wrongs against others, but ooooooooh... making anti-Jewish statements or anti-homosexuality statements means you can't possibly be worked with ever again. Like I said, I do not approve of bigotry or prejudice, but I think there is just a little imbalance in the reaction. I'm more upset Gibson was driving drunk. I know people who drive that stretch of road, and he could have KILLED someone (like Baby Spears on the lap of his mother). The imbalance is especially evident when Hollywood workers are expect to affirm same-sex relationships as marriage... it is no longer enough to "accept" homosexual behavior... you are expected to promote the activist agenda, as well. It will be interesting to see a town that still moans and whines about the "blacklist" treats Gibson. As far as I know, Gibson hasn't killed anyone. Communism, on the other hand, killed scores of millions of people.
Originally Posted By HyperTyper >>> However, I find it laughable that "Hollywood" embraces child molesters like Roman Polanski and Victor Salva An excellent point, RC. I'm a huge Dickens fan, and would really like to see the new version of "Oliver Twist" but can't bring myself to do it becuase that creep Polanski made it. I'm really amazed at the uproar over Gibson. The major networks were playing the story as if they were "Entertainment Tonight" and not "NBC News" and "ABC News." On one of our local channels, the entire anchor team sat around at the end of the broadcast thoroughly enjoying Gibson's debacle. One of them literally said "I don't like to kick a guy when he's down, but ..." and then smirked, giggled, and proceeded to kick him. Even the affable Barbara Walters, who apparently never met a dictator she didn't like, has now self-righteously professed she won't go see a Mel Gibson film anymore. Fine. They want to think Mel Gibson is a jerk? No argument here. I quite agree. But Hollywood is full of jerks and always has been. So is Washington. Hillary Clinton has been known for dishing-out a few private tirades, some of them anti-Semitic in nature. Look at her Hollywood fan club! (Heck ... look how her husband treated women.) How many stars have driven drunk, and treated other people badly? Catholics get routinely bashed. One of the actors in "Brokeback Mountain" went on a public, contempt-filled rant about Mormons because a theater in Utah didn't play the movie. Anti-semitism is bad, but anti-Mormonism is okay? Mel Gibson acted like a jerk. A total jerk. He owns that. He can't pass it off on alcohol. Booze doesn't make people say things they don't believe or think. It's going to take a lot more than rehab, counseling and "healing" to make things right. But Gibson is in good company in the media industry, which is filled with jerks, creeps and hypocritical opportunists who claim piety for themselves and see the devil in those who disagree with them. People are pleased to tar and feather Mel Gibson because he claimed to be a good, faithful person but doesn't walk the talk. They don't even consider that they've got exactly the same problem.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 You know, I think some of this might also be inflated because of the current situation with Israel. I'm sure it would have been all over the entertainment news before, but now, I think it just gets magnified. Yes, Hollywood can sometimes turn a blind eye, but for the most part, they like to tear down anyone who makes a very public slip-up like this, no matter what it is. Also... "The imbalance is especially evident when Hollywood workers are expect to affirm same-sex relationships as marriage... it is no longer enough to "accept" homosexual behavior... you are expected to promote the activist agenda, as well." ...Ok, this came out of nowhere! Seems to be veering off on a tangent...and an assumed one at that. Can't we stick to the topic without adding more gasoline to the fire?
