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The guy made a huge mistake, but I still enjoy his movies. And lets be realistic, if Jesse Jackson or Louis Farakon made some derogatory comments toward Jews the media would not even bother with it. The issue would be printed in the back of the paper with the grocery adds.
In this booking photo released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, actor-director Mel Gibson is seen in a booking photo taken Friday, July 28, 2006. An official police report on Gibson's arrest on drunken driving charges on Friday substantiates claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said Monday, July 31. (AP Photo/Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department) Gibson Asks Jews for Help in Healing
Tuesday, August 1, 2006 6:24 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mel Gibson acknowledged making anti-Semitic slurs during a drunken driving arrest and begged Jewish community leaders Tuesday to meet with him to find "the appropriate path for healing." A sheriff's watchdog, meanwhile, said deputies appeared to have handled Gibson's arrest properly.
It was the actor's second apology since sheriff's deputies stopped him for speeding early Friday on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, where officials said he was doing 87 in a 45 mph zone. He was arrested for investigation of drunken driving after a hostile, offensive confrontation with deputies.
The latest apology went far beyond the first — which spoke primarily to deputies— by addressing Jewish groups directly.
"I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words," Gibson said in a statement issued by his publicist Tuesday. "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. ... There will be many in that (Jewish) community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed."
Jewish groups generally said they wanted to see proof of Gibson's repentance before meeting with him.
"We always felt that there was another agenda, but we never called him an anti-Semite. I guess this moment in Malibu finished the circle, and so now it all comes together," said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "But I'd like to put it behind him, I hope he wants to put it behind him, but you need to work at it. You can't just say I'm no longer a drunk; you can't just say I'm no longer a bigot. You need to work hard at it, and we're ready to help him."
County prosecutors were reviewing the sheriff's report Tuesday to decide what charges, if any, would be filed against Gibson.
A civilian watchdog attorney, investigating allegations of a cover-up by the 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.
According to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the sheriff's report says Gibson told the arresting deputy "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" and asked him, "Are you a Jew?"
Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, said Tuesday the actor was in ongoing program for alcohol abuse before his arrest and had entered a new program since his arrest Friday. Both were described as outpatient programs.
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's latest statement said.
ABC announced late Monday that it had scrapped plans for Gibson to produce a miniseries on the Holocaust, saying it had not seen even the draft of a script in nearly two years.
Gibson, 50, has had an edgy relationship with Jewish organizations since the success of his 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," which some criticized for portraying Jews as responsible for the death of Jesus. Supporters said the movie merely followed the Gospel story.
"Anti-Semitism is not born in one day and cannot be cured in one day and certainly not through the issuing of a press release," said a statement from Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
Gibson should read about Jewish persecution and the Holocaust and "visit sites where it occurred," Hier added by telephone from Israel.
"When Mr. Gibson embarks on a serious long-term effort to address that bigotry and anti-Semitism, he will find the Jewish community more than willing to engage and help him," he said.
Gibson, a top star of the 1980s for the "Lethal Weapon" series and winner of the best-director Oscar for 1995's "Braveheart," has long acknowledged problems with alcohol. In a Saturday statement, he said he acted "completely out of control" during his arrest.
Witnesses said Gibson had been drinking at a Malibu beachfront restaurant called Moonshadows before his car was stopped. Widely distributed photos show Gibson with his arms around several young women at the restaurant shortly before his arrest.
The Sheriff's Department initially did not mention Gibson's remarks when giving an account of his arrest, with a sheriff's spokesman claiming the arrest was made "without incident."
Gennaco, the lawyer who oversees the sheriff's watchdog, said he wouldn't have described the arrest that way. The deputy's decision not to handcuff Gibson was within department policy, added Gennaco, saying the department generally prefers to have suspects handcuffed but that officers have discretion whether to do that.
Also, the department turned over all necessary information to the district attorney's office, he said.
Gennaco, however, couldn't say whether the department had tried to shield Gibson's remarks from the public when the original arrest report was ordered modified and the comments placed in a supplemental report instead.
"That question I don't have an answer to," he said.
The department has denied any cover-up.
———
Associated Press Writers Sandy Cohen and Solvej Schou contributed to this report.
Maybe he wants the Rabbi to bless the tequila and make it Kosher...
"If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992
Originally posted by FORD No, he wants the Rabbi to intercede on his behalf with Michael Eisner. ABC already cancelled the mini series that Mel was producing for them.
About the Holocaust, ironically enough.
Yeah....isn't that a little like getting David Duke to produce a mini series about the civil rights movement?
"If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992
Originally posted by ULTRAMAN VH The guy made a huge mistake, but I still enjoy his movies. And lets be realistic, if Jesse Jackson or Louis Farakon made some derogatory comments toward Jews the media would not even bother with it. The issue would be printed in the back of the paper with the grocery adds.
Jesse Jackson has made anti-semitic remarks many times, including calling New York Hymietown. And nobody gave a shit...you're right. Still doesn't make it OK. It's despicable.
Originally posted by SensibleShoes I'm tired of PR people telling these people what they have to say to get their asses out of slings. If he said it, he probably believes it all, and his public apology lends credence to him actually saying it.
Absolutely, he said it and he meant it. He wasn't even that drunk and he said it. And that's fine, he's an ignorant, anti-semite, the world is full of them. Just fucking admit it, stop with the BS apology. What gets me is people accepting it. Why? He meant every word he said.
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