Is The Passion about current politics? Did Mel Gibson promote it as a way to influence a Presidential election? Have any of Gibson's previous movies been shown to be outrageous fabrications intended to defame living persons? Did Gibson promote The Passion as an expose of lies our government is telling us? If the answer to those questions is no then where is the equivalence?
And this is relevant to the point in what way? At least you admit that to you it was never about principle.