LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Several of Mel Gibson's friends say he's a "different person" when he's drinking, but they do not believe he's anti-Semitic.
Movie producer Dean Devlin said he and his wife are Jewish, and he considers Gibson -- who unleashed an anti-Jewish tirade when arrested for drunken driving July 28 -- one of his best friends in Hollywood.
"If Mel is an anti-Semite, then he spends a lot of time with us, which makes no sense," Devlin told the Los Angeles Times. He met Gibson while co-producing "The Patriot," in which Gibson starred. "But he is an alcoholic, and while that makes no excuse for what he said, because there is no excuse, I believe it was the disease speaking, not the man."
Jodie Foster said she does not believe that drunkenness excuses hurtful remarks, but doubts claims that Gibson is prejudiced against Jews.
"Is he an anti-Semite? Absolutely not," Foster told the newspaper for a story in Friday's editions. "But it's no secret that he has always fought a terrible battle with alcoholism."
Though it was widely believed that Gibson has been sober since the early '90s, some people close to him say he has been on and off the wagon for years.
"I have been with Mel when he has fallen off, and he becomes a completely different person," Devlin said. "It is pretty horrifying."
Gibson was charged this week with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Foster, who co-starred with Gibson in "Maverick," said she believed he will recover from his latest fall.
Gibson "was a shining example of how low you can go when you are young and still pull yourself up," she said. "He took his recovery very seriously, which is why I know he is strong enough to get through this now."
Mel Gibson's racist rant shows how a seed of Jewish hatred planted by his father has grown to bear fruit. His apologies ring hollow, because a guy like him should know better, even when drunk, to keep his freakin' mouth shut when being arrested. I guess a spoiled actor like him, usually surrounded by butt-kissers gave him a since of invincabilty.
Even worse than Mel Gibson's antics was the authorities' attempt to whitewash the whole thing.
Nsanebrane said this in post #47 : Mel Gibson's racist rant shows how a seed of Jewish hatred planted by his father has grown to bear fruit.
this is also why little arab boys and girls focus on blowing up when they are 14 rather then playing video games and watching porno which is much safer.
When i grow up!
American:I want to be a police man
Jew: i want to be a nurse and help people
Crazy child of a terrorist: I want to be a firebomb and kill hundreds of little jews!
Despite the public backlash over the anti-Semitic remarks made during his DUI arrest, Mel Gibson has been receiving some public support as well. Most recently, Patrick Swayze has backed the embattled Mad Max star, publicly offering his support through this tough time.
Patrick Swayze was interviewed by London's GMTV over the weekend, in which he described Mel Gibson as "a wonderful human being". The interview, which will go to air tonight, adds Swayze's voice to a list of Gibson supporters which also includes Jodie Foster and producer Dean Devlin.
ITV quoted most of Swayze's interview, in which he said "I feel really bad for Mel, he's a good guy, we have been in each other's lives for a long time, he's a wonderful human being. He is not anti-Semitic. People say stupid things when they happen to have a few and especially if you don't drink any more, or have limited your drinking for a long time and all of a sudden you decide to have one too many with the boys - you are stupid."
Swayze, who has battled alcohol problems of his own in the past, went on to say "I really feel for him right now because for one moment in time ... everybody else gets to be allowed to have a stupid moment and nobody knows about it or cares the next day. So it makes it difficult when your life is under the microscope."
As well as downplaying the magnitude of the arrest, and of the anti-Semitic remarks, Swayze talked about how the arrest could affect Mel's career. When asked if this arrest could end Mel Gibson's career, Patrick Swayze said "No way - are you kidding me? A man that talented? You don't put somebody down like that, you can try - they've tried in my world. When you are a pitbull and you love what you do and you are going to continue to grow, that talent will find its way out one or the other."
"If anybody dares try to pull this cr*p of messing with Mel's career - it's wrong, it's unfair, it's not right. Talent deserves to be honoured, hands deserve to be slapped if you do something stupid as well, but don't take it too far."
Mel Gibson was pulled over and arrested on the Pacific Coast Highway on Friday, July 28. During his arrest, Gibson was quoted as saying "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," before asking the arresting deputy if he was a Jew. While more remarks were made, and unconfirmed comments cast an even larger shadow over Gibson, the tape of the arrest will not be made public.
Patrick Swayze has been a veteran actor in Hollywood, appearing in dozens of films. As well as being an actor, who has appeared in movies such as The Outsiders, Youngblood, Dirty Dancing, Road House, Ghost, Point Break, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar and Donnie Darko, Swayze is now on stage in London's West End, portraying Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.
As for Mel Gibson, the embattled director of Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, as well as the star of The Patriot, Lethal Weapon, Mad Max and many other films, is set to appear in court to face DUI charges on September 28th.
Dreamzwalker said this in post #50 : I wonder if they would have made a big deal if mel got a dui while driving with no hands after taking a bottle of viagra?
Now Dreamz, that is a pretty BIG assumption there.
08-05-2006 12:20 AM
apparently not. 
