Mel Gibson seeks forgiveness for anti-Semitic rant By Bob Tourtellotte
1 hour, 1 minute ago
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Mel Gibson apologized on Tuesday for making anti-Semitic remarks in a drunken rant and asked to meet Jewish leaders, but several called on the Hollywood superstar to first show deeds and not offer words.
Separately, U.S. television network ABC pulled a program about the Holocaust that Gibson's company was producing, and a Los Angeles official defended the sheriff department's handling of Gibson's arrest against claims he was shown favoritism.
"I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested," Gibson said in a statement.
Gibson, who directed 2004's blockbuster movie "The Passion of The Christ" about the last hours of the life of Jesus, was caught speeding early on Friday, and he went on a rant in which he is widely reported to have said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report, parts of which have been published and confirmed by officials, is laced with anti-Semitic remarks and expletives from Gibson.
The report said an open bottle of tequila was found in Gibson's car, and on Tuesday, celebrity magazine In Touch Weekly published photos of Gibson drinking in a Malibu, California, bar and hugging female patrons.
In his statement, the actor and Oscar-winning director of "Braveheart" said he had entered "an ongoing program of recovery." In the past, Gibson has admitted having problems with alcohol.
GIBSON'S PLEA FOR HELP
His anti-Semitic remarks have caused an outcry because, before "Passion," a $610 million global hit, conservative Catholic Gibson defended himself and his movie against critics who labeled them anti-Jewish. His father, Hutton Gibson, has described the Holocaust as "maybe not all fiction, but most of it is."
In Hollywood, where many movie studios were founded and are still run by Jewish men and women, top executives denounced his remarks.
Gibson pleaded for understanding and help.
"I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing," he said.
Several Jewish leaders said he must first complete his recovery program and perform acts of goodwill, such as visiting Nazi death camps.
"We will know when the time is, but the time is certainly not when his press agents think it is," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. "I certainly think he is facing his alcoholism, and now I think he needs to face the statements of bigotry and anti-Semitism the same."
The Anti-Defamation League "accepted" the apology. National Director Abraham Foxman said when Gibson's recovery is complete, "we will be ready and willing to help him."
A spokeswoman for ABC said the network canceled development of a Holocaust miniseries because nearly two years had passed since ABC struck a deal with Gibson's production company to make it and it had not yet seen a script.
Michael Gennaco, who heads the sheriff department's oversight board, said an initial probe showed L.A. sheriffs did not violate department policies. The final arrest report would include inflammatory comments made by Gibson, he added.
(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Deena Beasley and Jill Serjeant)
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