Mel Gibson, Racist, Sexist, and Violent--Has He Gone Too Far?

snood wrote:

chai2:

A relevant question would have been "How would your feelings been different about seeing Shaft if the actor had recently been exposed as a woman-beater?"

Would have made no difference.

simple as that.


What did people use for inspiration in all the years prior to motion pictures/professional plays snood?

I just find reality more inspirational than made up stories.

I enjoy reading novels, and sometimes get a strong message. But I'm not inspired to act like a person in a fictional tale.

I understand that the part played by an actor, and the person who works as an actor, are 2 separate things, not to be confused with each other.

I'm convinced these tapes are fake. Mel deserves an Oscar and is now my favorite actor hands down. I bet he gets more fans from these tapes. They are gold!

The troubled state of his relationship with girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was not lost on Mel Gibson. "He realized how unhealthy the relationship was and recognized that they were in a bad place and he was getting his buttons pushed," a friend tells PEOPLE.

So, earlier this year, the actor sought therapy.

Gibson, the pal says, "wanted to figure out how to extricate himself from this unhealthy relationship peacefully and calmly. Which is what he did."


Indeed, the couple's split around March appeared smooth on the surface, and in May the two signed a custody settlement for their 8-month-old daughter, Lucia.

Gibson's lawyer Stephen Kolodny previously described the deal as "very generous support payments, joint custody and eventually 50/50 custody of Lucia," while the Russian singer claimed that payments have since dried up.

But over the last few weeks, things have imploded in a very public way, with Gibson, 54, and Grigorieva, 40, locked in a bitter custody dispute and the superstar facing domestic abuse allegations and the fallout from leaked audiotapes in which Gibson berates and threatens Grigorieva during profane rants.

A source close to the case claims the tapes were recorded in February on the heels of a heated exchange in January.

Both sides agree they argued in January but differ on what exactly transpired. Grigorieva claims Gibson punched her in the face "more than once," breaking a tooth and knocking out a veneer. Another Gibson source says the actor only "tried to stop [Oskana] from shaking their baby like a ragdoll" during the altercation.

And how Gibson is holding up amidst both the public and private drama? The actor is still in therapy and, says the friend: "He's coping as well as can be expected."

Normally, California law requires two-party consent for recording phone conversations, and it seems Grigorieva may have recorded Gibson without his knowledge. But as criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos explains, even without his consent, there is still a chance the recordings could make it into evidence. “Generally there’s a presumption that they are not admissible,” says Geragos, who has represented Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder. “However, there is an exception under [penal code] 633.5, which [states that] in certain types of cases, they can be admissible. But that is a factual inquiry. A judge would have to rule on that.” The exception, he explains, only comes into play in “kidnapping, bribery, extortion, and crimes involving threats of violence.” Essentially, that means it’s up to Grigorieva’s legal team to convince a judge that the infamous rants should be admitted. But, according to defense attorney James E. Blatt, that shouldn’t be too difficult. “[The tapes] will be admissible,” he says. “If someone is calling you to to say, ‘I’m going to bury you in a rose garden, and I have the ability to do that,’ I think that’s a reasonable inference of a criminal threat.” And Gibson’s rant might fit under another exception to the penal code: annoying phone calls. “I think it’s pretty clear that most people would consider these phone calls to be annoying,” Blatt says. “That’s an understatement.”
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/07/14/mel-gibson-tapes-admissible/

Sorry Wayne - there is another poster I'm not familiar with named William and I was reading something by him right before I answered your post.

In what way would you consider his words and actions prejudiced but not racist?

Have your feelings about Gibson changed as a result of these revelations? Would you still want to see or support his movies?

What if the tape is played before a judge, and Gibson's defense is that he was doing an improvisational acting exercise for a remake of "Raging Bull" which his production company is working on?

(I am sorry if this sounds callous. Domestic violence is a serious crime. I am just wondering if such a legal strategy would be used.)

Did Someone Mess With Mel Gibson's Audio Recordings?
(By SHEILA MARIKAR and LUCHINA FISHER, ABC News, July 15, 2010)

Every day this week has come with a new, expletive-laced rant from Mel Gibson.

In the latest recording released by RadarOnline, he berates ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of their 8-month-old child, for not giving him oral sex and screams that he'll burn their house down.

"You're dishonest and you're f **ked up!," he growled. "So you stay the f **k away from me! Take care of your f **king son and I better have my daughter!"

But is it possible his rants aren't quite what they seem?

Grigorieva denied she released the tapes. Now some question their integrity. Forensic audio and video experts examined the recordings for HollywoodLife.com and believe someone tampered with them, editing the audio, removing parts of conversation and piecing together phrases to make the recordings sound real.

"One of the things that you have to know is that nobody at this point can authenticate it's Mel's voice -- not 100 percent," Bonnie Fuller, editor of HollywoodLife.com, said on "Good Morning America" today. "There are words that are edited out, there are spaces, there are gaps."

"I believe these are professionally done. I think she had help," said forensic audio expert Arlo West. "She clearly was speaking into what we call a large diaphragm microphone. Her voice is very well engineered. She sounds great."

Still, representatives for Gibson have yet to comment on the tapes. And in the court of public opinion, they've done their damage. It's unlikely Gibson will be able to win custody of 8-month-old Lucia in their wake.

"As a lawyer, if Mr. Gibson were my client, I would tell him to back off from the custody fight right now," said Debra Opri, a family law attorney based in California. "Don't even fight it, because that judge can take hold of your life and say, 'You're going to rehab, you're going to get anger management treatment, you're going to do all these things because the child's life is in danger.' He should really remove himself from the arena and say she can have 100 percent custody."

Different rules apply in the criminal sphere. Opri speculated that because of the media glare on the case, police will press domestic violence charges against Gibson. But because California is a two-party state -- the law requires that both parties consent to the recording of a conversation -- it's unlikely Grigorieva's recorded phone calls will appear in court.

"In a criminal investigation, there is no way those tapes are ever going to get into evidence," she said.

when all the pedophile priests were arrested?

Listen to the audio of this broad and Mel. This dumb broad's voice is very clear while my idol Mel seemed murky and far away.

Quote:

Did Someone Mess With Mel Gibson's Audio Recordings?
(By SHEILA MARIKAR and LUCHINA FISHER, ABC News, July 15, 2010)

..............Grigorieva denied she released the tapes. Now some question their integrity. Forensic audio and video experts examined the recordings for HollywoodLife.com and believe someone tampered with them, editing the audio, removing parts of conversation and piecing together phrases to make the recordings sound real.

"One of the things that you have to know is that nobody at this point can authenticate it's Mel's voice -- not 100 percent," Bonnie Fuller, editor of HollywoodLife.com, said on "Good Morning America" today. "There are words that are edited out, there are spaces, there are gaps."

"I believe these are professionally done. I think she had help," said forensic audio expert Arlo West. "She clearly was speaking into what we call a large diaphragm microphone. Her voice is very well engineered. She sounds great."

Editing conversations to make them say what you want them to say is nowhere as easy as some seem to think. When we speak there is a certain cadence or rhythm to our words when used in sentences. It is extremely difficult to make a conversation say what you want it to say without noticing something is off in the timing. Timing, word inflections, breathing, etc., all play a part and to expertly "edit" is pretty tough. It might not be that easy for us amateurs to figure out but for the experts it's pretty much a piece of cake from what I understand. I sure didn't hear anything in those tapes I'd think was editing, but then again, I am not an expert either.

If she had expert help they sure weren't expert enough to make sure that the conversation (both sides) had the same quality. I think this is just what it appears to be. He was being violent and threatening and she taped the conversations for proof.

Now, her being extremely calm could be because she knew she was taping them and that would, of course, tend to sway others to her side somewhat.

Not sure how I got my post in the quote box but couldn't figure out how to get it out...............sorry about that.