Mel Gibson’s Future Uncertain After Reported Anti-Semitic Tirade
Posted July 31, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Mel Gibson’s future in Hollywood is uncertain following reports he went on an anti-Semitic tirade during a drunken driving arrest last week.
The Oscar-winning director was pulled over by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in Malibu early Friday in his Lexus LS 430.
Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said Gibson was clocked doing 140 km/h in a 70 km/h zone. A breath test put his blood-alcohol level at 0.12, above the California legal limit of 0.08.
The entertainment website TMZ posted what it said was a portion of the original arrest report.
According to the report, Gibson threatened the arresting deputy and tried to escape. It suggests that at one point the Braveheart star said, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” and asked the officer, James Mee, “Are you a Jew?”
The report hasn’t been made public, but the Los Angeles Times contended Sunday that it was authentic. Sheriff’s watchdog officials are now looking into whether part of the incident was covered up and if so why.
Gibson issued an apology following the arrest that said he did “despicable” things.
“I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable,” Gibson said.
It’s not the first time the 50-year-old star has been accused of being anti-Semitic. He bankrolled and directed The Passion of the Christ, which some Jewish leaders said cast Jews as being responsible for the death of Jesus.
Studio executives seemed divided on how Gibson’s behaviour would affect his career, but one media expert suggests he may have done himself irreparable harm.
“It’s a nuclear disaster for him,” said publicist Michael Levine, who has represented Michael Jackson and Charlton Heston, among others. “I don’t see how he can restore himself.”
Gibson posted $5,000 US bail following the arrest and was released hours later.
In his statement of apology, Gibson said he was struggling with alcoholism and was working “to ensure my return to health.”
He won a best-director Oscar for 1995’s Braveheart, and starred in the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max films.
