Mel Gibson: The World ‘Seems to Have Gone Mad’
Celebrity scandals aren't our bag. But considering that some Jewish groups felt Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" did more to further anti-Semitism than any other piece of pop culture in recent memory, we figure that Gibson's apology for his anti-Semitic remarks over the weekend is fair game. The photo above was taken at a bar a few hours before his arrest. The N.Y. Times marvels at "the speed at which the scandal unfolded, doing serious damage to one of Hollywood?s most valuable careers along the way."
Celebrity scandals aren’t our bag. But considering that some Jewish groups felt Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” did more to further anti-Semitism than any other piece of pop culture in recent memory, we figure that Gibson’s apology for his anti-Semitic remarks over the weekend is fair game.
Dig, Root, GrowAP:
Mel Gibson’s statement, released to the news media early Tuesday, five days after his drunken driving arrest in Malibu:
There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.
I am a public person, and 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. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.
… I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery. Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know 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.
This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. Its about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad.
This year, we’re all on shaky ground, and the need for independent journalism has never been greater. A new administration is openly attacking free press — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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