Posted on 10/14/2006 6:50:10 PM PDT by familyop
Hollywood superstar tells Good Morning America last summer’s anti-Semitic outburst grew out of his concerns over violence raging between Israel, Hizbullah
Actor Mel Gibson says his drunken, anti-Semitic outburst at police this past summer may have stemmed in part from lingering resentment he harbored over the barrage of Jewish criticism leveled at his 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ.”
In an interview aired Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Gibson also suggested that his statement to police that “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” grew out of his concerns over the violence raging between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon at the time.
But the 50-year-old star told interviewer Diane Sawyer he was “ashamed” of the things he said during his July 28 arrest for driving while intoxicated.
Asked by Sawyer, “What are the Jews responsible for?”, Gibson replied, “They’re not blameless in the (Mideast) conflict,” then added: “Now when you’re loaded ... the balance of how you see things comes out the wrong way.”
“Let me be real clear, here. In sobriety here, in front of you, national television ... that I don’t believe that Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” Gibson told Sawyer. “I mean, that’s an outrageous, drunken statement.”
And he denied being influenced by the views of his father, Hutton Gibson, a Holocaust skeptic who has said publicly he doubts 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis.
The interview, run over two days, concluded with Gibson saying he needed to “heal myself” and to “allay the fears of others and heal them if they had any wounds from something I may have said.”
'Thin line between explanation and excuses'
Two years ago, Gibson fought off charges of anti-Semitism surrounding his film “The Passion,” a blood-soaked portrait of Jesus’ crucifixion that Jewish leaders claimed would incite hatred and even violence toward Jews.
“I was subjected to a pretty brutal public beating,” Gibson recalled. “The film came out and, you could have heard a pin drop. Not even the crickets weren’t chirping. But the other thing I never heard was one single word of apology.
“I thought I dealt with that stuff. But the human heart can bear the scars of resentment, and it will come out when you’re overwrought and you take a few drinks,” he said.
Reaction from Jewish leaders to Gibson’s TV appearance was mixed, with some saying they felt his explanations for his conduct rang hollow.
Kenneth Jacobson, deputy national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he was heartened by Gibson’s closing statement, and particularly touched when the actor said, “The last thing I want to be is that kind of monster.”
“But I felt that when Diane Sawyer was probing about why he did it, there was a problem because there is a thin line between explanation and excuses, and some of it came close to excuses,” Jacobson said.
he should shut up now. or pray for God's grace, 'cause he seems to be putting more feet in his mouth all the time.
Yes, this didn't improve my opinion of him a bit. I used to hold him in high esteem. but now I'm saddened to say that he's obviously just another pretty face. i am not interested in hearing about his inner torments and what-not--I'm sick of hearing that sort of garbage as explanation for rotten behavior on the part of people in this society.
It's also a very Hollywood trait -- self absorption.
And he ain't all that pretty to me!
And you can bet his concerns weren't for the Israelis.
He has no claim to political expertise and - clearly - is not very smart about it. He's hurt himself and - potentially - has hurt many millions of innocents. Anti-semitism has a very, very brutal history.
I think he recognizes his errors and his limitations. What more can you ask of a man?
You're not a girl!
Trust me on this, he's very pretty.
However, he is a liberal on war issues and has always voiced his opinions on that.
If conservatives put him on a pedastal after "The Passion" that's their problem. He's never hidden his views.
If he wants forgiveness, a whole lot more. Gibson is a man of enormous talent and resources. He could put his money where his mouth is by committing part of that talent and resources to producing films that portray the true Christian message of peace on earth and good will towards man....even Jews.
Oh shutup already.
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Fair summary.
Yeah, I guess being spied upon, having your all your family's skeletons in the closet revealed, and being the subject of a full court smear campaign for daring to make a movie about Jesus can leave some lingering resentments.
Gibson deserves an apology as much as he owes one.
>>What more can you ask of a man?<<
That he just shut-up.
For those of us that are traditional Catholics (not Traditional i.e. denying the mass of Vatican II) we are still pegged as Anti-Semitic constantly. We are not and the church teaches us that that way is wrong. He isn't helping.
Better he be silent and taken for a fool than to prove it.
The idiot is still drinking, and has seemingly no interest in getting straightened out, only with making sure his new film (which is supposed to be terrific) wont be hurt by the incident.
The idiot is still drinking, and has seemingly no interest in getting straightened out, only with making sure his new film (which is supposed to be terrific) wont be hurt by the incident.
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