Mel Gibson: 'I Am Not An Anti-Semite'

[Aplomb]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...n1853416.shtml

Mel Gibson: 'I Am Not An Anti-Semite'

Actor Apologizes To 'Everyone In The Jewish Community,' Asks For Help



(Page 1 of 2)
CALABASAS, Calif., Aug. 1, 2006

CBS/AP) Mel Gibson said Tuesday he is not a bigot or an anti-Semite and that he apologizes to "everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words" he used when he was arrested for drunken driving.

"Hatred of any kind goes against my faith," he said in a statement released through his publicist Alan Nierob.

"I'm not just asking for forgiveness," Gibson said. "I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing."

It was the second apology the 50-year-old Oscar winner has issued through Nierob since his arrest early Friday.

Gibson said he is "in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display" and hopes members of the Jewish community, "whom I have personally offended," will help him in his recovery efforts.

"There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark," Gibson said. "But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith."

Gibson acknowledged "there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed."

The actor-director said he must take responsibility for making anti-Semitic remarks because as a public person, "when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena."

Gibson noted that his apology and efforts to repair relations with the Jewish community "is not about a film."

Gibson was arrested in Malibu early Friday for alleged drunken driving, and reportedly unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade and made other offensive comments when he was pulled over, initially for speeding, early Friday in Malibu, California.

An arrest report posted on the celebrity news Web site TMZ quoted Gibson as saying, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked the arresting officer, "Are you a Jew?"

The sheriff's deputy who arrested Gibson said in an interview that he feels bad for damage to the star's reputation but hopes Gibson thinks twice before drinking and driving.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy James Mee, who is Jewish, said that he considered it a routine arrest and did not take any comments made by Gibson seriously.

"I don't take pride in hurting Mr. Gibson," said Mee, a 17-year deputy. "What I had hoped out of this is that he would think twice before he gets behind the wheel of a car and was drinking. That would be my hope that this would accomplish that. I don't want to ruin his career. I don't want to defame him in any way or hurt him."

The first fallout from the arrest may have already come with Monday's announcement by ABC that it had canceled a planned miniseries about the Holocaust that it was developing with Gibson's Icon Productions.

"Given that it has been nearly two years and we have yet to see the first draft of a script, we have decided to no longer pursue this project with Icon," ABC said in a one-sentence statement.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Department sent prosecutors its case Monday, including an official police report that includes claims that Gibson made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said.

The report also claimed that a tequila bottle was found in Gibson's car when he was pulled over on the Pacific Coast Highway, according to the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

---

Mel Gibson is seen in a booking photo taken Friday, July 28, 2006. (AP Photo/LA County Sheriffs Dept.) "But, if you are high-strung person, it's going to amplify that and all the bad things are going to come out." The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified sources, said a portion of Mee's arrest report was placed under lock and key while police officials discussed how much information about the arrest should be made public. "They were like chickens running around with their heads cut off," one source told the Times. The Sheriff's Department's account of the arrest made no mention of the alleged anti-Semitic remarks and said the arrest occurred without incident. The subsequent TMZ report triggered claims that the arrest report was sanitized. A sheriff's spokesman defended the department's handling of the case. "We hope we've done it with not only professionalism and intelligence, but held to the highest standard of legal and moral imperative," spokesman Steve Whitmore told reporters at sheriff's headquarters. The issue of a cover-up arose in part because Gibson has supported the Sheriff's Department. He once dressed in a deputy's uniform to film public service announcements for Sheriff Lee Baca's Star Organization, which raises scholarships for children of department employees. Gibson also donated $10,000, Whitmore said. Mel Gibson's publicist says the actor has sought treatment for his battle with alcohol. "Mel has entered into an ongoing program of recovery," Alan Nierob told theshowbuzz.com on Monday. "The guy is trying to stay alive." This is not the first time Gibson has faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Gibson produced, directed and financed "The Passion of the Christ," which some Jewish leaders said cast Jews as the killers of Jesus. Days before "Passion" was released, Gibson's father, Hutton Gibson, was quoted as saying the Holocaust was mostly "fiction." The arrest has led to intense speculation about the impact it may have on Gibson's career. "I can't remember an incident that is as jaw-droppingly grotesque for a career as this one," Hollywood media expert Michael Levine said on CBS News' The Early Show. "I don't think I want to see any more Mel Gibson movies," Barbara Walters said Monday on the ABC talk show "The View." Gibson, 50, won a best-director Oscar for 1995's "Braveheart," and starred in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" films, among others. 1 | 2 ©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report I will watch Mel's movies. I don't believe that alcohol makes anybody tell their deepest darkest thoughts. Sometimes it just makes you stupid, look stupid, act stupid, say stupid things, and cause a lot of stupid grief. Sounds like a great cop he was dealing with, too.

(CBS/AP)
Deputy Mee would not comment specifically on Gibson's remarks.

"That stuff is booze talking," the deputy said in an interview outside his home. "There's two things that booze does. It amplifies your basic personality. If you are a laid-back kind of person, just an easy going kind of person, booze is going to amplify that and you'll be just sitting around going how it's a wonderful day.

[Joey Bagadonuts]

Sounds like a great cop he was dealing with, too.

You're not taking a swipe at the deputy about over his job performance are ya?

[Aplomb]

Joey, considering that he's a Jewish cop and Mel was going off on some rant about Jews causing all of the world's wars and stuff, yet the officer said it was just the alcohol talking and didn't take it personally, nor did he want to ruin Mel publically; I think he is a great cop, and a great guy, too.

Seems like people are more ticked off at Gibson than they are about the Seattle Jewish Center story w/ the Muslim terrorist shooting people and killing a woman the other day. Say, where's that guy's apology?

[Joey Bagadonuts]

Hiya Plummie,

The cop was in a tight spot.
Some people say some really DUMB, obnoxious and threatening things when they're drunk. Mel sure did that night.

Looking at it from the cops point of view....The deputy did the right thing by taping him and putting all of Mel's comments and actions into his narrative report. Mel is mega rich and powerful and the threatening remarks Mel made HAD to be taken seriously by the cop from a "CYA" standpoint for his career. He couldn't ignore the threat to his job. Rich and famous people have a way of making a few phone calls and ruining your life.

I give the cop a lot of credit for trying to give Mel a break too. As far as watching Mels movies? hell, yeah I'll watch them.

People deserve a second chance if they sincerely apologize and try to make amends and change. Who among us hasn't done something DUMB and asked to be forgiven?

I'll be looking for hypocrisy from Hollywood as usual though. Madonna has made a career out of being offensive to Catholics...and I remember a certain black "preacher" (racial arsonist) who made some "Hymietown" remarks and was forgiven.

Pro sports are PACKED with rapists, drug users, wife beaters and they have no worries about being ostracized. I love how they say...."I made a mistake"...or....I made some poor choices" and they don't even apologize so.....we'll see what happens to Mel.

I hope he gets the help he needs...he's a likeable guy when he's sober.

***

[catfish]

Im sorry but Mel is, without a shadow of a doubt, an anti semite. Alcohol is a truth serum, it doenst make you tell lies. Ive been drinking for 20 years, so I have some experience with booze. When one starts to get buzzed, their tongue gets loose and they start saying things they would never say when sober.

Think about it, you all know Im right. How many times have any of you been drunk and said something to somebody that you otherwise would have never said sober?

[Aplomb]

I've been pretty drunk in younger days, catfish. At those times I was very stupid but I didn't devulge anything that I have in any closets, but yes I did say some rather bizzare things. I have brothers who, along w/ their friends, used to party all the time. They paid no mind to my being female when talking about girls, and all of us knew that some of that was stories. My brother who would never hurt me, nearly punched me in the face while drunk. I have a neighbor who is an alcoholic who takes turns loving me and hating me depending upon what stupid stuff starts coming out of her mouth that she then tries to back up with lies because she has put herself on the spot and drunk or not, she realizes that. Some people may tell the truth under the influence. Many others do not. I know many, and I was one who did not tell any secret truth I didn't want to because my guard was down. A few people know about some of those things and feelings from my past; I told people when I was sober and believed those friends were trustworthy. And If they get drunk, I think my confidence in them is secure. Even Jewish comedian Jackie Mason doesn't take what happened as any indication that Mel is anti-Semetic. I think that he honestly doesn't know where that rant came from, feels badly about it, and wants to do what he can to make ammends, which is goes beyond apologising. I commend him for that.

[Joey Bagadonuts]

Hiya Catfish...

None of us here have the ability to see whats in Mel's heart.
I'll take him at his word.

These are Mel Gibson's own words:

"I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words," Gibson said in a statement issued by his publicist. "Please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...08-02-17-13-51

I can only imagine the shame and embarrassment he must be feeling now.

***

[catfish]

I have always been a huge fan of Mel, so it bothers me to see the trouble he is in. One thing that makes me wonder is what was he thinking or doing prior to being pulled over. Obviously something happened prior that got him all fired up against the Jews.

[Aplomb]

Catfish, I'm thinking that it may be about "The Passion of the Christ". There was such a big stink about the movie being anti-Semetic by some people. If he had that on the brain, to me, it would be a natural thing for him to go off like that while being drunk.

Michael Medved has been talking a lot about this whole topic on Mel and the movie etc. Let me see if I can find his article that was to come out today.

[Aplomb]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion...son-edit_x.htm

Reconciliation should follow Mel's Malibu meltdown
Posted 8/2/2006 8:18 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this


By Michael Medved

Mel Gibson's emotional apology to the Jewish community might help cool the rage surrounding his now notorious Malibu meltdown, but it can't eliminate the image-shattering impact of his drunken, anti-Semitic rant. Those of us who have defended and praised Gibson for his outspoken Catholic commitment, and for his efforts to use the movie medium to convey religious messages, feel inevitably betrayed and, yes, a bit humiliated. In that context, some pertinent points help place this painful incident in proper perspective:

• There is no excuse for Gibson's obscene outburst in the course of his DUI arrest. The fact that his blood alcohol level only slightly exceeded the legal limit suggests that his assertion that "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" expressed deep-seated bigotry rather than some bizarre, booze-induced breakdown.

• At a time of surging Jew-hatred around the world, Gibson's remarks to arresting officers represent a far less serious threat than the very public anti-Semitic, anti-Israel comments by numerous celebrities, academics, United Nations officials and politicians. Neither Gibson nor anyone else in the country made the slightest attempt to defend the substance of his tirade, so his hate-filled words did more actual damage to himself than to the Jewish community.

• The "Mad Mel" Moment might change how we perceive Gibson's character, but it alters nothing about the images and messages he put on screen in The Passion of the Christ. It's still the same movie, frame for frame, line for Aramaic-and-Latin line. The millions of people who felt inspired and uplifted by a remarkable piece of cinema need not feel guilty because its creator insults a cop with ancient hatreds.

In the same sense, moviegoers who are moved by the upcoming World Trade Center, with its stirring (and apolitical) story of heroes of 9/11, shouldn't question their reaction because of past outrageous, America-bashing off-screen statements (and drug busts) involving its director, Oliver Stone.

Gibson's personal disgrace in no way retroactively "proves" his movie contained dangerous anti-Semitic messages; if anything, the worldwide reaction to the film proved the opposite. Despite dire predictions (which I decried at the time) that The Passion would produce violent Jew-bashing outbursts, the movie earned more than half a billion dollars with no serious anti-Semitic incidents anywhere. In fact, audience surveys showed that negativity toward Jews actually decreased after moviegoers saw the film.

• Organized attempts to punish or ostracize Gibson will prove counterproductive for the Jewish community by distracting attention from our very real, deadly enemies and focusing instead on a wounded Hollywood titan who says he wants to make amends. The Anti-Defamation League initially demanded show biz insiders "distance themselves from this anti-Semite," and super-agent Ari Emanuel said the entertainment community should be "professionally shunning Mel Gibson and refusing to work with him." But no blacklist can eliminate Gibson's ability to make movies or destroy his influence on pop culture.

Like it or not, Gibson will not disappear, and it hardly serves Jewish interests to isolate him as a permanent enemy — especially when his abject apology says, "I'm not just asking for forgiveness. ... I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help."

Even if you believe that his anti-Semitic demons never can be exorcised, and that he'll always harbor secret hostility to Jews, isn't it preferable to encourage him to control or hide those sentiments?

My own acquaintance with Gibson suggests that at this tortured moment in his life, he sincerely craves an opportunity to deepen his obviously pathetic understanding of Jewish identity and history. In any event, the process of reconciliation he proposes — no matter how difficult or incomplete — can only be good for Gibson, and good for the Jews.

Film critic and radio host Michael Medved tells the inside story of the battle overThe Passionin his bookRight Turns. He is a member of the USA TODAY's board of contributors.

edited to fix formatting

[American Patriot]

I think this is all a bunch of crap. Gibson got drunk, he got arrested for driving drunk. That's that. Doesn't matter what he said or didn't say, and it doesn't matter whether he said it drunk, or not.

He screwed up. Shouldn't make a damned bit of difference if he is an actor or a Congressman (Mr. Kennedy), SHOULD IT?

if it were me, I'd still be sitting in jail, and so would the rest of you.

Gibson screwed up.


And yes, drinking DOES make you say things "about your closet". I've seen it plenty of times, but it does depend on the person and the effects of alcohol on each person. Some people it doesn't affect like others.

Some people will tell you anything you want to know.

Others just get stupid.

So, this is an individual issue with each person and you can't apply some "blanket" to the situation.


Let it go. Gibson screwed up. Tough, it happens to people.

He'll get his day in court and that's pretty much that. There are a lot of people attacking him because they didn't like one or two of his movies.

[American Patriot]

[falcon]

OK now click on the link see what says Jackie Mason. You will love it.

Jackie Mason on Mel - Aug 3, 2006

Jackie Mason comments on the media coverage of Mel Gibson http://www.lauraingraham.com/pg/jsp/...N0U2l6ZT0xMA==

[Aplomb]

From my first post:
Gibson said he is "in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display" and hopes members of the Jewish community, "whom I have personally offended," will help him in his recovery efforts.

"There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark," Gibson said. "But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith."

Okay, catfish, I've changed my opinion about Mel based on some material that I have been reading.

Gibson said himself that he used vicious words, and that there should be no tolerance for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of antisemetic remark.

He is in the process of finding out where these words came from:

An arrest report posted on the celebrity news Web site TMZ quoted Gibson as saying, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked the arresting officer, "Are you a Jew?"

While I still hold that being drunk does not cause all people under the influence of alcohol to reveal all of their deepest, darkest secrets, I do believe that this is the case for some people. Gibson is known as a traditionalist Catholic, and I have a clue for him about where his Jew-hating words came from. I want to share some quotes from this site: http://www.catholicism.org/reply-keating.html

The "great mind" of our mutual hero seems to have "blamed Jews for all sorts of ills." Then there is this bit of wisdom from the witty distributist:

"Wherever the Catholic Church is powerful, and in proportion as it is powerful, the traditional principles of the civilization of which it is the soul and guardian will always be upheld. One of these principles is the sharp distinction between the Jews and ourselves . . . The Catholic Church is the conservator of an age-long European tradition, and that tradition will never compromise with the fiction that a Jew can be other than a Jew. Wherever the Catholic Church has power, and in proportion to its power, the Jewish problem will be recognized to the full."

Mr. Belloc's "great mind" was thinking in common with all the great minds of Christendom when he expressed such "anti-Semitism."

Abbot Guéranger, the great French ultramontanist and leader of the true liturgical movement, had a few things to say about Judaism and the Jewish people in his masterpiece, The Liturgical Year. Here is a sample:

"For eighteen centuries Israel has been without prince or leader … After all these long ages of suffering and humiliation, the justice of the Father is not appeased… The very sight of the chastisement inflicted on the murderers proclaims to the world that they were the deicides. Their crime was an unparalleled one; its punishment is to be so too; it is to last to the end of time… The mark of Parricide here fastens on this ungrateful and sacrilegious people. Cain-like, they shall wander, fugitives on the earth. Eighteen hundred years have passed since then: slavery, misery and contempt have been their portion; but the mark is still upon them."

In more recent times, there is St. Maximilain Kolbe, whose canonization infuriated many Jews, while they were unsuccessful at stopping it. His antipathy for freemasonry is well known, making the following statement all the more meaningful:

"The freemasons are nothing more than a coterie of fanatical Jews whose foolish intention is to destroy the Catholic Church."

Of Communism, he makes a similar statement:

"It is the Jews who are directing socialism and who at present rule in Bolshevik Russia."

Like Belloc and Father Feeney, St. Maximilian too "blamed Jews for all sorts of ills: religious, political, social, and cultural."

All the while they claim to not be antisemetic:

Lest the reader, prejudiced by Mr. Keating's remarks, think that we bear a sinful hatred for Jews, I will end with some happier and lighter thoughts. The reader is asked to recall my earlier statement to the effect that an opposition to Christ's enemies and a love for them in seeking their conversion were not mutually opposed.

Oh Bible literalists, where is it written in the Holy Scriptures that the Jews are Christ's enemies???