|
30
July 2006
Drink
Driving Mel Gibson Says
Sorry
Hollywood
actor and director
Mel
Gibson
has said he is "ashamed"
of the actions that led
to his arrest for
drink-driving early on
Friday
morning.
The
Oscar-winner, 50, was
stopped while driving at
speed along the Pacific
Coast Highway in Malibu,
California.
He
failed a breath test,
was charged with
drink-driving and freed
on bail.
Mel
Gibson said he had
battled alcoholism all
his adult life and was
sorry for his "horrific
relapse", as well as
statements he made
during the
arrest.
He
also paid tribute to the
police officers who had
arrested him.
"The
arresting officer was
just doing his job and I
feel fortunate that I
was apprehended before I
caused injury to any
other person," he
said.
Mel
Gibson said he "acted
like a person completely
out of control" when he
was arrested and said
things "that I do not
believe to be true and
which are
despicable".
"I
take this opportunity to
apologise to the
deputies involved for my
belligerent behaviour,"
he said. "They have
always been there for me
in my community and
indeed probably saved me
from myself."
Gibson's
bail has been set at
$5,000
(£2,680).
Mel
Gibson won a best
director Oscar for his
1995 film Braveheart, in
which he also
starred.
His
2004 biblical epic, The
Passion of the Christ,
was recently named the
most controversial movie
to date by US magazine
Entertainment
Weekly.
A
devout Catholic, Gibson
shot the film depicting
the last 12 hours in the
life of Jesus Christ in
Aramaic and Latin. It
took more than $600m
(£337.5m)
worldwide.
His
new film Apocalypto is
set 3,000 years ago in
central America and
features dialogue spoken
in an obscure Mayan
dialect.
Mel
Gibson is also known for
several other works,
including the Lethal
Weapon and Mad Max
series of films in which
he starred.
Return
To News Index
|
