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07
August 2006
Jodie
Foster Defends Mel
Gibson
Actress
Jodie
Foster
has spoken out in
defence of
Mel
Gibson,
insisting he is
"absolutely not" an
anti-Semite.
The
actor was arrested on
suspicion of
drink-driving on 28
July. During the arrest,
he made what he
described as "harmful"
anti-Semitic
comments.
Mel
Gibson, 50, was later
charged with
drink-related offences,
and has apologised for
his outburst.
Jodie
Foster told the Los
Angeles Times that Mel
Gibson had "always
fought a terrible battle
with
alcoholism".
"Mel
is honest, loyal, kind,
but alcoholism has been
a lifelong struggle for
him and his family," she
said.
"I
just wish I had been
there, that I had been
able to say, 'Don't do
it, don't take that
drink'."
Jodie
Foster, who starred with
Mel Gibson in the film
Maverick, said the
actor's previous
struggles with alcohol
provided "a shining
example of how low you
can go when you are
young and still pull
yourself up".
"He
took his recovery very
seriously, which is why
I know he is strong
enough to get through
this now."
The
Silence of the Lambs
actress added that she
did not believe Mel
Gibson was using his
alcoholism as an excuse
for the anti-Semitic
remarks.
The
actor's outburst came
when he was stopped for
speeding on the Pacific
Coast Highway in
Malibu.
According
to a law enforcement
official, Mel Gibson
told the arresting
officer: "The Jews are
responsible for all the
wars in the world", and
asked him: "Are you a
Jew?"
In
a statement last week,
the actor and director
said: "Please know from
my heart I am not an
anti-Semite. I am not a
bigot. Hatred of any
kind goes against my
faith."
He
has also asked to meet
Jewish groups to
"discern the appropriate
path for
healing".
Jewish
movie producer Dean
Devlin, who worked with
Mel Gibson on the film
The Patriot, has also
spoken out in defence of
the actor.
"If
Mel is an anti-Semite,
then he spends a lot of
time with us, which
makes no sense," he
said. "But he is an
alcoholic, and while
that makes no excuse for
what he said, because
there is no excuse, I
believe it was the
disease speaking, not
the man."
However,
other key Hollywood
figures have criticised
the actor.
"It's
incredibly disappointing
somebody of his stature
would speak out that way
at this sensitive time,"
Sony Pictures' Amy
Pascal said.
Producer
Peter Bart, meanwhile,
said the star had
"seriously compromised"
his career.
Mel
Gibson is expected to
appear in court on the
drink-driving related
charges on 28 September
2006.
He
is accused of driving
under the influence,
having a raised
blood-alcohol level and
having an open alcohol
bottle in the
car.
He
has not been charged
with speeding or in
relation to his
anti-Semitic
comments.
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.
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