I’m a female who has NO-absolutely NO- pity for abusive people. If any man did to me what Mel is accused of doing to his girlfriend, he would be in the morgue! That said-I think Gibson is his own worst enemy and is self-destructing. When you start out with some kind of religion and conscience, then go against it by abandoning your wife and family, I think the self-hatred takes over.
That being said, I can separate the man from the art. Gibson is still one of the most beautiful men to ever be on screen, he’s an awesome director and his talent cannot be denied. It can be trashed-by him- but not denied.
I just wonder how many stars would want their personal conversations recorded? How many would we think differently of if we heard their private lives? Most, I would wager.
If this were the 50’s, and we could hear the violent, drunken rages of Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, would their careers have been destroyed? Did Hollywood turn on Burton- a known violent drunk womanizer? No- and there was much more ‘morality’ back then. How about Errol Flynn- what a rep he had!
I’m not saying give Mel a pass, or that he is an ok guy( I think he needs serious help), but I do think his art should be just as separated from his life as Polanski’s or Burton’s or some of the absolute thugs and criminals who are ‘stars’ these days.
I can choose to buy Gibson’s ‘product’ without liking him as a human. The same way I can buy a car, or a house, or groceries without approving the personal life of the salesperson.
You actually are on the gold digger's side??? Who entrapped the drunken Mel over the phone with leading questions? Who pushed all his buttons to get outrageous statements out of him and had the tape rolling all the time?
And Mel did not so much abandon his wife as wanted to make beautiful music with a woman who could bring him more children. His wife Robin gave him seven children and that's great but as a virile alpha male he wanted more. Women like to tame men to exclusivity but some men have an imperative to make more babies after wife number one can no longer do so. I have a feeling Robin understands this. Does not like it but she gets what the deal is with Mel
The thing is that Mel didn't start out that way. His reputation around the movie industry as a drinker and womanizer who was half nuts was established long before he "got religion" and started following his father's teachings. I was hearing those stories 15 years ago. For a while he was able to sustain the new image, but eventually the old ways came out again.
I also heard a story from a sound effects editor who worked on "Passion" that Mel was telling incredibly dirty gay jokes while supervising the sound of the nails being driven into Christ's palms.