When I say ambushed, I mean that he didn't know that he was on the air. He is an old man. If you feel that is all right, to be calling the elderly parents of celebrities, and putting them on the air, then perhaps that says more about you than it does about Hutton Gibson or Mel Gibson. The man is almost 90 years old. Why don't they just leave him alone? There is absolutley no reason to even be interviewing him. Does anybody ever ask that question? People in the media like the controversey. And especially in the media who didn't like The Passion of The Christ. Just as Bill O'Reilly said at the time-people have known for 20 years that Hutton Gibson had some strange ideas, and nobody gave a damn. It was only when The Passion came out, that people started calling Hutton Gibson.
He most certainly did know he was on the air. If you recall, he gave several print interviews at the time as well.
As to Bill O’Reilly, he’s wrong. People did give a damn. Not as big a damn, he was a minor figure, but he came in for a great deal of criticism. As has the Adelaide Institute with which he’s occasionally associated. But no, in the US he wasn’t known much, even after moving here, a quarterly newsletter, occasional shortwave interview, but not a lot of prominence.
Like it or not, the film brought him some prominence. A higher profile, keynote speeches at a couple Holocaust denial events, even mainstream print interviews at which he could express his despicable views.
And yes, his higher profile and access to the mainstream media brought more criticism. As it should.