Image Credit: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com
Last night at the 25th Annual American Cinematheque Award Ceremony, which was honoring Robert Downey Jr., the Iron Man actor asked Hollywood to forgive Mel Gibson.
Gibson was invited onstage to present Downey Jr. with the prestigious award, since, in the words of Garry Shandling, “The Cinematheque was concerned a bit about Robert’s checkered past, so they chose someone to present the award who could help balance that out and the choice was so obvious, Mel Gibson.”
Gibson spoke kindly of the star, who he famously helped to make a comeback by paying Downey Jr.’s insurance bond so he could star in 2003′s The Singing Detective. “You are my friend,” Gibson said. “When I saw you all those years ago and got all those warnings, I just thought, ‘There’s nothing so much wrong with him.’” Gibson explained, “You’re a good dude with a good heart.”
During Downey Jr.’s acceptance speech, he had even kinder words for Gibson. “I asked Mel to present this award for me for a reason,” he said. “When I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope and encouraged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s as long as it was rooted in forgiveness. And I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me in the lead of a movie that was actually developed for him. He kept a roof over my head and food on the table and most importantly he said if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoing and embraced that part of my soul that was ugly – hugging the cactus he calls it — he said that if I hugged the cactus long enough, I’d become a man.”
He continued, “I did and it worked. All he asked in return was that someday I help the next guy in some small way. It’s reasonable to assume at the time he didn’t imagine the next guy would be him or that someday was tonight. So anyway on this special occasion and in light of the recent holidays including Columbus Day, I would ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin in which case you picked the wrong f—ing industry, in forgiving my friend his trespasses and offering him the same clean slate you have me, allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame. He’s hugged the cactus long enough.”
The crowd in the room applauded vigorously, as Gibson appeared to tear up a bit.
(Reporting by Carrie Bell)
Read more on EW.com:
ADL condemns Mel Gibson’s involvement in Judah Maccabee film
Robert Downey Jr. on the case for Perry Mason movie
That was lovely.
i dont really like RDJ but this almost made me cry sniff
Ugh, Hollywood people love to give each other awards and honors.
The like giving each other awards and blowing smoke up each other’s butts. RDJ was an alcoholic, a disease that you can treat. Gibson is a racist and a woman abuser but refuses to take responsibility for it. It’s America, he has the right to be a racist and a woman abuser, we the public have the right NOT to support him with our hard earned money. That’s how capitalism works buddy. Besides the people most mad at him are the Jewish producers, heads of studios, actors, directors, etc. In other words his peers and co-workers.
two things: Mel Gibson IS an alcoholic and addict and second, RDJ’s wife is Jewish. I would trust people who know him, who are his friend, such as Jodie Foster who is gay, and RDJ with his past and who married into a jewish family (and I think is Jewish as well?) before I would believe the others who don’t know him or wish to work with him. Only those closest to him would know both sides to the issues.
I admire RDJ for doing this and hope people do think about it. We can all use forgiveness sometimes.
@Leo: I don’t hear RDJ’s Jewish wife coming to his aid. RDJ being married to a Jewish woman doesn’t mean he is Jewish. Furthermore people make exception for friends and lovers all the time. Some racist people still marry Blacks, Jews, Hispanics but they consider their spouse ‘different’ and not like those ‘other’ Blacks, Jews, Hispanics. It would be easy for Gibson to consider RDJ’s wife one of the exceptions to his role about Jews.
RDJ didn’t say that Gibson isn’t racist or isn’t a woman abuser, he just said for people to forgive him. Things will go much better for Gibson if he admits to his faults and says he is getting help for them. Having RDJ or Jodie Foster vouch for him isn’t going to cut it. I believe Jodie Foster came to the aid of Roman Polanski which to me means that she could care less about how the person is as a human being, she only cares about their talent. There are plenty of people in Hollywood like that, as long as you are talented they don’t care if you sodomize a 13 year old girl, rape 10 year old boys etc. Foster being a lesbian doesn’t make her some type of saint or great judge of character.
Rdj just has a way with words.
As someone who doesn’t like Mel Gibson, I have to respect the words of Robert Downey Dr. He has a good reason for what he’s saying, and I hope Mel Gibson can redeem himself.
To tack onto what Leo was saying…. RDJ is also part Jewish.
You mean a third chance. He was given a second chance after he went off on that cop. What did he do with it? Go off on a woman and say more racist things.BTW,I wanna share a good news to you.My best friend ,she just has announced her wedding with a millionaire man who is a celebrity !they met via Millionaireloving.C óM ..it is the largest and best club for celebrity and their admirers to chat online.You do not have to be rich or famous. ,but you can meet one , It’s worthy a try,Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends!
We ALL need a third chance, a fourth chance, a fifth chance and so on. How many of you would like the entire world to hear and see some of the aweful things you’ve done or said in private? I know I’d be very ashamed and I can’t imagine the world judging me and holding me to my sins the way they do Hollywood. We ALL make mistakes, their mistakes are publicized for us all to judge..imagine that happening to you!
@WTF I don’t think Ms. Foster came to Polanski’s aid… I think she did the movie to learn more about the art of directing…
my neighbor makes $56/hour on the laptop. She has been unemployed for 5 months but last month her pay was $6620 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Go to CàshHard.cøm
Absolutely beautiful. Class act that RDJ.
Agree, I cried just reading it. I can’t imagine there would be a dry eye in the house considering the way RDJ probably delivered it.
We do need to forgive Mel Gibson for his harsh (drunk) words. A lot of people have done a lot worse and been forgiven.
I completely agree. There have been many people who committed other crimes (that some would argue were worse – open to interpretation) who have been forgiven by Hollywood.
RDJ’s speech is lovely. I hope it is taken to heart.
Kate, I don’t forgive him but do agree with you that some people ARE being hypocrites. Those who supported child rapist Polanski (manly because he is a fellow Jew) but turn their backs on Gibson need to STFU. Apply the same rules to both, they are both in the wrong.
Mel doesn’t need your hate. He needs your help.
@WTF – totally agree. Polanski is a great example. Also, Mike Tyson.
IS RDJ ON DRUGS AGAIN??
I find it a little odd that a poster with the name SS is coming to the defense of the antisemitic Gibson!
@WTF, I agree with you that Hollywood is full of hypocrites. They embrace a child molester like Roman Polanski, but reject a substance abuser who needs help. They rejected RDJ, until a few people, like Gibson, gave him work, Once RDJ’s work made money, he was forgiven. It will be the same with Gibson. If he has a film that makes money, all will be forgiven. I just hope that he’s getting the help he needs.
What I find so itensreting is you could never find this anywhere else.
Beating and threatening to kill the mother of your child is NOT and never going to be OK. It doesn’t matter what she was or did – a decent non abusive man handles those problems within the law and decency. Plus he wouldn’t have been in that situation if he hadn’t publicly cheated on his wife and left his wife for her. Maybe it’s time to boycott RDJ as well – I know I will.
Nobody cares who u forgive. U ain’t nobody special. Folks need to get over themselves , thinking they better then everybody else . That means YOU!
And I suppose we should also boycott Eric Cartman due to the fact that Mel Gibson is also his idol!
I mean, really, what a pathetic comment to make!
If we all listened to narrow minded people like yourself we would never watch any more movies due to the fact that Gibson has worked with or been involved with most of the leading actors,directors and producers!
You shouldn’t tar people with the same brush as somebody else!
No where did read where anyone said his behavior was ok. Where did you see someone who said that? Downey was at rock bottom a few years ago and Gibson helped him up again. Since that time, afaik he has lived a perfectly acceptable life. And now, he is returning the favor. Not because of what Gibson did, but because he thinks Gibson has straightened out. Again, do you have other information that Gibson continues this behavior?
To Boycott the Racist: You’re an idiot. Nuff said.
Agree – let’s not give this racist another chance – he’s had way too many already. He’s not sorry, he’s sorry he got outed as a racist and abuser.
it’s amazing you call this man racist because of some random sound bites caught while he was intoxicated. This man also produced a movie starring all Ethnic actors in apocalypto when nobody in hollywood would. He filmed passion of the christ in the original aramaic, which was a nod to the culture of the area and time period.
I’m not remotely condoning beating or threatening to beat or murder your wife okay, but his ex-wife was also a bit disturbed herself and the legitimacy of those tapes where he says that are highly contested. I have had family members who have had horrible addictions to both drugs and alcohol, and let me tell you, they are COMPLETELY different people when they are sober and when they are using. The fact that you have major stars who happen to be in certain minorites, aka RDJ (Jewish), Jodie Foster (lesbian), Whoopi Goldberg (African-American) come out and publicly stand up (but not defend his actions) for Mel Gibson and claim that that’s not the man that they know/worked with, pretty much tells me that the man has some serious alcohol addiction issues and is not inertly a racist, anti-Semite, homophobe, etc…
@KEEP, has it really been proven that Gibson beat his girlfriend, or that was his voice on those phone calls? The calls sounded fake, like she was reading from a script. And you couldn’t really make out if it was Gibson’s voice.
Gibson is an alcoholic who needs help. His girlfriend seems to be a liar and manipulator. I don’t envy that little girl having those 2 parents.
Gibson pled “no contest” to assault of his ex-girlfriend. That is NOT an admission of guilt. It’s saying that he doesn’t want to go to trial, but doesn’t want to plead guilty, so just give him the punishment and let him move on. In other words, no it hasn’t been proven.
No it hasn’t been proven that he was on those phone calls.
That Robert Downey Jr. is SUCH a class act! & I agree with him. Gibson has his demons and hes made some mistakes–some pretty awful ones at that–but hes a talented, seemingly-repentant individual and I think its time the public gave him another chance. I know I’m going to! Now its in your court Mel; don’t make me regret my decision to give you another shot!
You mean a third chance. He was given a second chance after he went off on that cop. What did he do with it? Go off on a woman and say more racist things.
Are you perfect? Have you ever said something in anger you regret?
Get off your high horse.
Plus, Mel Gibson has more talent and direction than most people will ever have. He deserves success.
I’m not perfect but neither am I racist or a woman abuser. I make mistakes but I don’t go on repeating them. I also apologize when I”m wrong. I’m not on my high horse, it’s called having morals. I have the right to judge someone who wants me to give him my money, it’s my right.
Gibson is the same person who not too long ago built his OWN church and was setting the rules of moral and ethical behavior. Got to love hypocrites like that.
Downey paid his debt by going to prison. He hit bottom and worked his way back up. Gibson has not done anything tho help people forget what he did. He has not paid any debt to society or done appropriate pennance (to keep it religious). When he said what he has done, on the numerous occasions from anti Semitism, racism and spousal abuse, was wrong and asked to be forgeiven, maybe then, but he has to recognize what he did was wrong and so far, I have not seen any evidence that he does. He just stands there while his friends, like Foster and Downey, plead his case, which is the coward’s way out.
Yeah. No one has ever gotten more than one extra chance in Hollywood. (FYI, that was sarcasm in the event you were too stupid to realize)
@Jane
“Downey paid his debt by going to prison.” Well, that’s because Downey was convicted of a crime. What “debt to society” does Gibson owe? Last time I checked, going off on some verbal rants is not a crime. The man has some alcohol issues, and anger issues… but he hasn’t actually “done” anything to anybody. Woman, you’ve got some crazy thought-police complex thingy going on.
Actually, no, I HAVEN’T ever said anything in anger even remotely as vile as what Gibson said.
Basically what all the bleeding hearts here are saying is that it doesn’t matter what you say or do, what the heck, we’re only human, so what, let’s forget it. That’s not anywhere in the Bible I read.
I have always despised Robert Downey, Jr. Now I hate him even more — and I didn’t think that was possible.
Mel Gibson has donated over $10 million to 2 hospitals to cover the cost of treatment for children whose families can’t afford it. He has given at least $500,000 to preserve the rainforest in Guatemala. He has given millions to charities that bring sick children to the US for treatment.
@ the poster going by “me”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You’ve never said anything in anger? Do you really think ANYBODY falls for that?
Also, you say you read the Bible? Christ’s forgiveness is what saves us. If God judged us the way you seem to think he should we would all be in hell. Including you, no matter how perfect you think you are.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3: 23
Mel is a 2nd Generation Racist. Mel set up an entire church & devoted decades to spouting hatred against Jewish people & denied the Holocaust even happened, cheated on his wife for decades, then not one, but several public vile vicious rants against Jews, gays (mag interview), black men, women, the mother of his child, gays, police officers, and Latinos. That’s only what was made public. Imagine all the times it wasn’t taped, said in an interview, or witnessed by POLICE OFFICERS.
Mel’s been quoted as saying he liked his wife barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, and it gets much, much worse from there. He’s a awful person. He’s getting his just desserts IMHO.
I won’t forgive him. I don’t have to. He’s a racist, homophobic, antisemetic, misogynstic a$$ and that is just based on the things he’s said when he’s sober. Sure, he has the right to be all of the above just as I have the right to avoid any movie associated with him. But…. ‘What do you think you’re looking at, sugar #i#s’ has to be one of the funniest things I have ever heard in my life. He’s lucky the female cop didn’t pistol whip his stupid drunk a$$.
I used to like him bef. learning his views are mostly the same as his father’s racist, ignorant views. He is not sorry about his vile behavior; he’s sorry that most of the entertainment industry blackballed him. He wasn’t sorry for DECADES of prejudice & misogyny. Even made a movie to promote his hatred against Jewish people. Alcohol addiction alone, which is what he claims he has, doesn’t cause racism and abusive behaviors, it only lowers your inhibitions so that you are more open about it.
So you guys used a russian to extort him by recording his private conversations. Some friends you are.
That just makes me like RDJ more. Swoon
WTH is the Columbus Day reference about?
I was wondering about that too – I don’t get how it relates.
It was a joke.
Yom Kippur Oct 8. I believe the joke was to “seemingly” not address that Holiday.
The things Mel said are his true beliefs so everytime he gets drunk, u run the risk of him saying the same hurtful things!
He did 2 many wrong things for 2 long to B forgiven. I don’t care how many people come 2 his defense. From beating up his GF & threatening kill her, screaming racist insults @ a cop, creating a church that teaches denial of the Holocaust, 2 saying so many awful things about other races. He deserves a permanent ban from entertainment for his vile lifelong actions. I’m sick of the rules being 1 thing 4 the rich & famous & another for the rest of the planet. Lost all respect for RDJ & JF.
Nuff said.
And if you’re any kind of Christian, you should forgive him. It’s very easy to hate, not so easy to love or forgive. Does that make you empty and weak? Then you and Mel might have something in common. Instead of attacking someone for their mistakes, try and be the better person and understand them. We all have demons to contend with – maybe it’s time you tackled yours rather than hide behind someone else’s
Why don’t you follow Robert Downey Jnr’s example? Try hugging a cactus rather than just being one!
Jesus was not a Christian, get over it.
“Jesus was not a Christian, get over it.”
Gee, Christian means Jesus:’ Jesus Christ. “Christians” were first persecuted for there belief in Jesus.
I, for one, forgive Mel and also forget. We needs to think future, not harp on the past.
You’re presuming the above poster IS a Xtian.
Jesus was NOT a Christian, he was a Jew. Obviously, you know nothing about your own religion. Further, Jesus might have died for the sins of mortal man, and he wasa forgiving person, but he never said that you have to forget. Being neither a Christian or a strict follower of the actual teachings of Christ, I have no intention of forgiving or forgetting what Mel Gibson (or Tom Cruise) has said or done. People should be held responsible for their behavior, and Gibson’s homophobic and bigoted behavior well before his drunken domestic abuse and bogoted tirades brought his own persoanl views to the greater public eye are not so easily forgotten. Gibson and Cruise are on my NEVER, EVER list.
Hate to break it to you all, but he’s right: Jesus was Jewish, not Christian.
People of other faiths are quite capable of forgiving, it is not only a Christian belief.
Now for history. Jesus Chris was not a Christian, he was Jewish. He was a Rabbi who spoke in the Temple, not in a church (which did not exist during his lifetime). Christianity was started by the Deciples after Christ was crucified–Peter (St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome the home of the Catholic Churc), Paul (St. Paul’s in London), etc., etc, etc. The first part of the Christian Bible, the Old Testament is Jewish History–Judeao-Christian teachings from the Bible is what most Christians are taught.
Reading the Bible is interesting and informative, and from his behavior, something Mr. Gibson should do more often.
Jesus was a Jew who encouraged people to forgive. He would have been first in line to forgive Mel as many times as necessary.
June – Name another Religion that features forgiveness, with a reference please. Just curious.
Eric – google forgiveness & other religions & you get 8 million topics to read. Knock yourself out.
If you can’t read it all I forgive you.
That totally made me laugh out loud. You win the Internet today.
Oh, look, another idiot….alot of you folks out there.
Is that all the brain power or lack thereof that you can come up with is to call people you disagree with names? Are you 10 or are you actually what you call others? Give us compelling reasons or facts, not name calling.
As RDJ alluded to, let those without sin cast the stones. I suppose you’re without sin.
We might as well open the prisons and let out all the murderers, rapist, arsonist, etc. because apparently you have to be without sin to judge when someone has down something wrong and punish them. This is such a straw man argument. We all have the right to judge others as they have the right to judge us equally. Pointing out someone’s wrong doesn’t mean others can’t point out yours either. Wrong is wrong. Why don’t people understand this?
Actually, compared to Mel and RDJ I would wager every single person who has posted here is an angel. Hands up if you’re a child-beating, drug-sniffing, threat-uttering, breaking-and-entering racist…because unless you are you’re better than both RDJ and Mel from a moral standpoint.
People judge him because he’ s a celebrity.
That’s all there is to it.
You will never be better than Mel. Mel helped a lot of people for charity in south america, and with his ex-wife for sick people. He’s employed so many people and not one said a bad thing about him.
You just sit there judging him like you’re better than him. You’ll never be better than him. You’re probably just masturbating all day on the internet.
Punishing people for breaking the laws of society isn’t wrong as far as Jesus is concerned. You know, render unto Cesaer, etc.
Jesus was talking about personally judging yourself as better than others, and not forgiving others their sins. Only God can judge someone’s sins.
I have the rest of the week off, although I’m spseoupd to be preparing a syllabus for the class I meet next Tuesday. Instead I’m going to movies with my family and sleeping late. Sometimes you just need to procrastinate! I was surprised by how much I liked the Sherlock Holmes movie; I didn’t expect to like it. Although I have enjoyed everything I’ve seen RD Jr in, he’s not my picture of Holmes. But like with the Lord of the Rings movies, I can like someone else’s picture of a beloved character.
Forgiveness, understanding and support. Everyone should get a chance to live and learn from their mistakes. Downeys words were sincere and elequent. I can only hope that sarcasm slowly goes away and sincerity makes a comeback.
This makes me love Robert Downey Jr. even more. What a class act.
Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing person. I was truly worried for him back in the day and to this day have a very hard time watching Less Than Zero because I picture it as too close to who he really was! I feel terrible for Mel as well and wouldn’t mind seeing him turn things around. It is terrible to see how far he’s fallen. Good luck Mel & thanks RDJ for being such a beautiful soul.
Actually, he is just a bad drunk. Everyone knows one or two of them. They are talented, affable, beloved, but get a few drinks in them, and Mr. Hyde comes out. At your job, are you graded and judged by your personal behavior? Yet you judge an ACTOR by some words that he said when he was totally polluted. I am sure that you have used that excuse to get out of something horrible that you daid or did……”dude, I’m sorry I called your mom sugart*ts and called you a heeb……I was really drunk…..”
Good point! It seems everyone forgets their own drunken disorderliness. Personally, I hate that so many people use drunkeness to excuse morally reprehensible behavior; it may uninhibit us, but it’s too often used as an excuse for bad character.
Mel’s personal views are well know from the scores of times he’s aired his opinions while completely sober. His racism and bogotry are nothing new, nor his misogny – the church that he and his father built preach it. He just gets mentally and physically abusive when he’s drunk; he’s verbally, emotionally, and financially abusive when he’s sober. Great guy, there. Not.
Alcohol is just fuel on a fire. The fire was there to begin with, but add alcohol (fuel) and the fire goes out of control.
When or where has Gibson asked for forgiveness? He is not remorseful for his actions, so why should he be forgiven?
Gibson has made several public apologies, asked for forgiveness, pled no contest in court, and done AA and anger management. But people turn a blind eye to that.
^ It’s OK to hate Gibson but not OK for Gibson to hate anybody else. Weird. It’s your right to hate Mel, so go ahead. Not sure where the coward/wimp thing comes from but small minded people tend to hurl insults rather than arguments.
Like!!
Apocalypto is pure genius!!!
One of the greatest films ever made.
Wow… what mastery of logic there – straw man.
Clearly Mel Gibson has issues, but all of his close friends in the “biz” (such as Jodie Foster) have said he is a wonderful, supportive friend. This is another example…God bless you, Robert Downey Jr. for believing and supporting your friend as he has done for you! This brought a tear to my eye. We are all broken and it’s the love and support of friends and family that heal us.
Awww, how sweet. We should all have such empathy for aging, bigoted millionaires.
Too bad you can’t do as you say. There’s a word for that, but I didn’t come here to call names.
RD jr. deserves better friends than Gibson.
If we can choose our friends, they wouldn’t be our friends.
What???!!??!!!
Ima gonna take a crack at it – If we could choose our friends, they wouldn’t be our friends… because they’d be our family that we chose because we couldn’t choose RDJ. Which I totally would. Choose RDJ as a friend. OR family. Swoon.
?
Gibson was one of the only friends that RDJ had when he was going through his own personal turmoil. RDJ was a bigger mess than Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears, and it was thought his career was over. Most in Hollywood had written him off as being on his way to an early grave. RDJ is lucky that he had Gibson as his friend, and that Gibson helped him when he needed it.
I can’t forgive a phoney who’s a bigot. My family history proves it. Just my opinion.
WHO CARES?
and why TF should we care that you don’t seem to care? is this person’s opinion worth any less than your indifference?
He was nice to Robert Downey, Jr, so I can understand RDJ’s request. It’s Gibson’s prejudice to others that makes it extremely hard to forgive.
That was beautiful and extremely classy. People fall down and hit rock bottom but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a second chance. We’re not perfect.
In Early 1990s it was vile things said against gays & women and building a church to promote bigottry and spread lies that the Holocaust didn’t happen In early 2000s it was against Jewish people & police officers. In Late 2000s it was against black men, Latinos, Jewish people, and the mother of his child,. This man has a history of mean spirited, hateful comments against anyone who was not of his religion and a white man. Notice how all the people who defend him are white? So no, this is not a second chance, this is a like a 100 chance and enough is enough.
Oops, mistake, his “church” or as others have rightfully called it “cult compound” was built in 2003.
Spoken like a true Christian.
You focus on research and knowledge, great. It means nothing. Forgiveness means forgetting all that!
Youre an idiot
Uh, I’m not white, but I understand forgiveness. You have your own bigotry, you just don’t see it. But the rest of us do. Also yes, they deserve criticism for the things they say and do while on drugs or black out drunk, but I have friends who are black out drunks. They sometimes say bizarre and nonsensical things. You just want to slam these people down over and over and over again, to make YOURSELF feel good. If someone honestly tries to better himself after hitting rock bottom, why must you attack and stomp all over him. Also your contention that all the people who disagree with you are WHITE is itself racist. I’m not white and I 100% disagree with you.
Oh, blah blah, blah Frank. Only Christians (often poorly and with extreme bias) jabber about forgiveness like they have a market on the word. Gibson has long been known to be a misogynist, a racial bigot, and a orientation bigot. He’s so ultraconservative, he has his own splinted church that gives even the other ultra-fundies pause. These are FACTS. He is an alcoholic that enacts horrible domestic abuse. This is fact. Stating FACT is not ‘knocking someone when they are down’. Saying so has nothing to do with making oneself ‘feel better’ (though clearly most human beings out there ARE FACTUALLY much better humans than Gibson). it’s holding Gibson responsible for his behavior – just like his OWN church requires. There is no defense for this, and he should be held responsible for his actions. Further, no one is required to ‘forgive’ him for anything, let alone forget.
What Gibson said and did was deplorable but it’s time to move on. And highly doubt anybody whose criticized Gibson whether in Hollywood or on a message board has never said an inappropriate remark
No, I can’t say I have ever screamed that I will kill the mother of my child bury them in the garden or beat her up , said racist things to a police officer, cheated on my spouse even once much less for decades, built a church devoted to spreading lies and hate against another religion. No one is judging him because he’s human, but because he’s a hateful human.
Jesus Christ is thar you
No, it’s not time to move on. It’s not ever going to be time to move on. People should be held responsible for their actions.
…to those against whom they acted poorly.
Not to you, dumbass.
Artists are not gods, they owe you nothing but their art. Your rage at being let down is a symptom of your lack of boundaries between the real and the symbolic.
The entire construct that those who offend you morally must suffer is ridiculous and childish.
The offence is defined by *your* moral position,not the act. Abortion offends some, does not offend others, yet is the same act in both cases. GET IT?
I am responsible to those with whom I interact. What you think of my morals – and whether you believe your right to be offended by a stranger equals a right to punish – is as thoroughly irrelevent to the true issue here as you are to this discussion.
@Sandra – LOL! Assumption monster got your tongue apparently.
Again if you’ve never said an inappropriate word feel free to criticize Gibson.
Okay, thanks!
Mel Gibson is a racist idiot
Sounds like you’re the idiot.
Nope, it’s Mel.
I think you really have no idea about Mel Gibson. An ‘inappropriate word’ is a billionth of the problem.
What do you know about the ‘problem’?
The problem is people like you who neurotically attempt to link someone’s artistic success with their moral success *according to your own morals*.
Thus, you are attempting to change art into religion, to have it succeed or falter on the basis of the morality of its participants.
Art is not a religious venue.
Stop trying to turn everything in life into a confirmation or validation of YOU.
A person who represents their real self, regardless of the flaws, is far more valuable than those who hide themselves beneath a fear of moral offence.
Again, you make a whole boatload of incorrect assumptions. There’s little else to say beyong your replies are pretty bizarre.