...paging Groucho...twitter material now available in aisle 5...paging Groucho...

It's not a pack. It's a satchel. I get a lot of compliments on it.

Hey! Officer! Someone took my European carryall!

Your what?

The...black, leather...thing with a strap.

You mean a purse?

Yes! A purse! I carry a purse!

I thought Gibson answered it in the interview with Diane Sawyer. I have no problem with reporters doing their job and holding celebrities accountable for their actions.

I'm just question whether Hugh Grant, or Eddie Murphy had their incidents brought up 4 years later when promoting their movies. And to the extent of "Do you think the public wants you back?"

Michael Corvin brings up a good point about Mel Gibson not making movies for awhile since the DUI incident and that no other reporters could ask him about.

I've changed my mind about the situation. I'll take Gibson's word he's not a bigot. And I don't think someone's words when drunk should be held over them 4 years later. That said, he was driving drunk, with an open bottle of tequila, AND ranting racist things. It's not like someone secretly videotaped him while at a party.

He's a grown man and should know better than to drive drunk, endangering the lives of others. He put himself in the situation and he shouldn't get all butt hurt when someone asks him about what happened.

I just hope that these same reporters hold other celebrities to the same standards when they get caught having affairs with married people, doing lines, driving drunk, hit and runs...and ask the same questions:

"Do you think the public wants you back after hitting someone with your car and then fleeing the scene?"

"Do you think the public wants you back after being caught and then admitting to paying for sex with escorts, despite the AIDS epidemic and the risk of passing STDs to others due to your promiscuous and irresponsible behavior? Not to mention the exploitation of the women involved?"

Neither Gibson nor Rubin fared well in that interview. Gibson's remark about Rubin 'having a dog in the fight' shows us he's still in that mindset about Jews.

Yeah, apart from being amusing to watch on youtube... the approach he's taking isn't coming across well. A few more of these and I may have to side with the OP. It's not very hard to answer really... "yeah, I screwed up four yrs ago...I've done all I can do since than to correct it. I've put it behind me and now I'm back." Smile...and that's the end of it.

Maybe the Beaver comedy should've been the first one to come out...lol.

I didn't take it that way. I thought he was just saying that he was asking what was in it for the reporter by his bringing it up again...although anyone as media-savvy as Gibson would definitely know that any controversy would enhance the reporter's reputation & get him exposure beyond his local media market. I certainly hadn't heard of him before this.

Of course, that might have infuriated Mel, too...the idea that this relatively unknown guy was trying to use past missteps of Mel to advance the reporter's career.

However, I wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility that what you think is true.

Nice post.

I sort of agree with you & sort of disagree. It certainly would have been more diplomatic (and Christian) of Gibson to turn the other cheek. It might even have convinced a few skeptics that he has improved his disposition. It would be the right approach to take & made the reporter look like even more of a jackass.

On the other hand, it's kind of nice to see someone treating these type of "ambush reporters" with the 'respect' they deserve. If Gibson had just been released from prison or had committed some heinous crime, the questioning might have been relevant. The questioning implied that Mel was a social pariah and that the majority of society might totally reject any product associated with him. If that were the case, past hits such as Road Warrior, Braveheart, etc. wouldn't still be popular.

Isn't Edge of Darkness a studio film rather than being a project independently funded by Mel? If his image is so much of a concern, would a studio have taken such a risk by casting Gibson?

I think a much more relevant question might be why Gibson is returning to acting (since it seemed that he was becoming a full-time director). I think it would have been fair game to ask if Mel thought audiences would still accept him in action roles since he has gotten older (although Gibson might have taken offense at that, too). I hear the "age" questions often being asked of middle-age actors & actresses.

At any rate, the reporter had to know that the line of questioning might be offensive to Gibson & that Mel would be sensitive that it. The reporter could have cleared it with Gibson beforehand.

I guess I don't blame Gibson for getting mad at someone for bringing up past history. Notice the DUI charge gets totally lost in all this?

Anyway, Artman, I think we'd both agree that Gibson has made some other very poor personal decisions more recently than the past controversy surrounding his arrest. Neither he nor the reporter came across well at all, and the new movie got totally lost in all this. Which is a shame, because (judging from the negative reveiws from objective sources) it sounds as though the interviewer had plenty to pick at.

You also have to keep in mind that Gibson probably does a half dozen of these a day and is probably getting asked about it from everyone and we're just seeing the ones where he is basically tired of it.

I dunno. The way he said the 'dog in the fight' makes it seem like he still feels that all Jews are out to get him.

Paging jpb07, you're wanted in the Ready Room...

It's a satchel.

Sounds to me like Mel is saying that there are personal reasons behind Sam Rubin's attack.

Exactly, Rubin is letting his bias towards Gibson's comments taint his supposed objectivity as a reporter.

Like it was stated above, Gibson already did the Diane Sawyer interview and admitted what he said. She got the scoop, just like Leno got the "scoop" on Hugh Grant. All these reporters are hoping Mel might still be struggling with alcoholism and rehashing old news, in hopes of getting him to meltdown on camera.

I took it as Mel knew where the questioning was going and what the reporter was hinting at.

What I don't understand (and probably never will), is how someone becomes a actor/movie star and suddenly becomes infallible.

The worst part is that from this whole ordeal his drunken rantings are taken far more seriously than the fact he was driving drunk. I would rather blow off some drunken words than hear about some fatal head-on collision.

Actually, no not at all. No religion has anything "coming." Like I said, I don't think anyone should rip another person's religion. The fact is that just about every major war in this planet's history has been about religion. Whether it be Christians vs. Muslims, Jews vs. Muslims, Shite vs. Sunni....the wars are all equally stupid. HOWEVER, it seems as though the vast majority of people find bagging on another religion acceptable. Just look at how the press demonizes the religious conservatives. Why is it acceptable to demonize them but not to say anything remotely bad about Jews?

Colossally untrue, or you're entirely ignorant about history.

It's "acceptable" for people to bag on others for their political or scientific beliefs... why should religious beliefs be exempt? If you believe in something so strongly that you demand it be turned into public policy, be prepared to get torn an entirely new asshole for it.

Never watched an episode of South Park or Bullsh!t, have we?

You really don't see the difference? The Hugh Grant and Eddie Murphy incidents were about them doing something stupid and getting caught. Gibson's drunken anti-Semitic rant concerns his deep-seeded beliefs and mindset about Jews...it's his thoughts, feelings and emotions about an entire (oft persecuted) religion. It's entirely fair to ask whether the public should have moved on from that. He said it...now he has to deal with it.

Well, when it comes to a persons beliefs and their actions...I'm much more concerned with actions. There's no way we can look into someone's heart. Are we supposed to ask every celeb and public figure what they really think about different groups of people?

I'm sure everyone has negative thoughts towards religions that aren't there own (or all of them)... I really don't care if someone thinks I'm going to hell, I do care if they physically try to send me there.

Well definitely every war the US has ever fought in...except for The Revolution, the War of 1812, The Mexican War, The Civil War, The Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War...but the rest definitely.

'Every major war was about religion'...

Don't put that!! He would have to put the whole Bible in and that would take up too much space. That would leave out my comments.

@creekdipper
thanks.

Someone else brought up Hugh Grant and Eddie Murphy as examples. I responded, like Grant and Murphy, that Gibson discussed the incident with someone on tv already(Diane Sawyer).

I alluded to the examples of Halley Berry and Charlie Sheen because to my knowledge I don't think they were confronted with their incidents/scandals in the same manner. If they haven't, then I believe they should because they are examples.

Just as an anti-Semite might look to Mel Gibson's drunken rant to make him/herself feel more comfortable with their own prejudices, another person looks at other celebrities to feel comfortable with their own immoral/illegal activities.

I guess you can say exploiting women for sex in exchange for money during is less bad than ranting drunkenly about the Jews. I completely understand the reaction considering what happened in Germany under the Nazi's and what's going on in the Middle East.

However, we also have a world wide AIDS epidemic, women being smuggled across boarders to become prostitutes against their will and the exploitation of women in general with regards to brothels, the porn industry etc. In return we have Charlie Sheen talking about, "I didn't pay for sex, I paid for them to leave."
And I've never read or heard any talk of this actor being blacklisted or questioned about his actions when promoting a movie or tv show. I tried youtubing anything with Halle Berry or Charlie Sheen and their scandals but nothing came up. I may be wrong and have just missed it when it initially came out but from my perspective it seems like racism is treated seriously whereas other serious are not. Atleast when it comes to celebrities.

Fixed.

Religion does not cause wars.

People seeking the ends to their wants often say they're doing so in the name of their "higher power".