Mel Gibson said Tuesday he is not a bigot or an anti-Semite and he apologized 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 issued through his publicistAlan 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 Academy Award winner has issued through Nierob since his Friday arrest.
Gibson said he’s “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.”
Investigation into arrest
In an investigative development, the attorney in charge of a civilian panel responsible for oversight of allegations of wrongdoing by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a preliminary review found nothing wrong with the handling of Gibson’s arrest.
“In this case the information reviewed to date indicates that LASD did ensure that the arrest of Mr. Gibson was handled in accord with its policies and practices,” said Michael Gennaco, head of the county Office of Independent Review.
leftBesides the procedures of stopping, testing, arresting and taking Gibson to a sheriff’s station, “most importantly, all information that should have been presented to the D.A. regarding this arrest and the underlying and surrounding circumstances was presented to the district attorney,” Gennaco said.
He said an investigation was continuing into whether the disclosure and documentation of information about the arrest was consistent with policies.
Apology welcomed
Earlier, Gibson’s new statement was welcomed by some Jewish leaders.
“I welcome his words. And I hope and pray that they are sincere and heartfelt,” but Gibson needs to show “tangible actions” of repentance, said Rabbi Mark S. Diamond of the 280-member Board of Rabbis of Southern California.
“I don’t want to minimize for a moment the hurt and anger, the anguish, his words have created in our community,” he said.
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.”
Gibson was pulled over for speeding early Friday in Malibu and arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.
He was released several hours later after posting $5,000 bail.
On Monday the Sheriff’s Department sent its case to prosecutors, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. According to the official, the report states that a tequila bottle was found in Gibson’s car when he was pulled over on Pacific Coast Highway.
The department’s initial account of the arrest did not mention Gibson’s remarks. However, the law enforcement official quoted Gibson as saying, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” and asking the arresting officer, “Are you a Jew?”
The sheriff’s deputy who arrested Gibson said Monday he feels badly that the star’s reputation has been damaged but he hopes Gibson will think twice before drinking and driving again.
“I don’t take pride in hurting Mr. Gibson,” Deputy James Mee told The Associated Press during an interview outside his home.
Mee, who is Jewish, said he didn’t take Gibson’s remarks seriously.
“That stuff is booze talking,” the deputy said.
However, Gibson’s latest statement 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.”
ABC announced late Monday that it had scrapped plans for Gibson to produce a miniseries on the Holocaust.
“This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have,” Gibson said.
To some people, however, it is about movies.
“I don’t think I want to see any more Mel Gibson movies,” Barbara Walters said Monday on the ABC talk show “The View.” ABC is owned by Disney, which was in the early stages of planning the marketing for Gibson’s next film “Apocalypto.”
This is not the first time Gibson has faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Gibson produced, directed and financed the 2004 blockbuster “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.”
Gibson won a best-director Oscar for 1995’s “Braveheart” and starred in the “Lethal Weapon” and “Mad Max” films, among others.
In recent years, he has turned his attention to producing films and TV shows through his Icon Productions. The hundreds of millions of dollars he made from “The Passion” has given the star the ability to finance his own films, giving him a measure of independence from major studios. His last major starring role was in the 2002 film “Signs.” He played a supporting part in the 2003 film, “The Singing Detective,” which he also produced.