Mel Gibson: Drunk and pissed

Of course if you're a British reader of this blog, you'll view that as a redundancy. "Pissed" in British slang means drunk, the informal meaning of the same word in American English refers to anger.

Mel was in California last weekend when he was arrested for drunk driving. He then went on a bizarre anti-Semitic verbal rampage.

Gibson's public image has taken a hit, and it's doubtful it will ever recover. As Gibson's primary audience has evolved from fans of action films to conservative Christians--many of whom, particularly Baptists, view Jews quite favorably--nagging doubts about Gibson's true feelings probably will never dissipate among these newer fans.

Worse: Mel's father has been making anti-Semitic comments for years.

Drunk driving arrests bring out the worst in people. If Gibson's handlers want to spin Mel out of this mess, perhaps they can allude to the similarly bizarre behavior of two famous Chicago Mikes: Ditka and the late Royko, who embarrassed themselves after they were busted by police for driving under the influence.

On the other hand, Ditka and Royko didn't cross the line into bigotry as Gibson did.

(Yes, Mike Royko did make some anti-gay comments in his tirade, but since Royko at that time had been writing columns that some viewed as "gay-bashing," the legendary columnist's public persona hadn't been altered much. Besides, when Royko was arrested, his career was heading downhill. Years of boozing took its toll, and he was no longer writng great columns on a regular basis.)

The Gibson directed Apocolypto, a Mayan epic, is scheduled for release on December 8.

We should have a good idea how much damage has been self-inflicted on Gibson's career after that date.

Technorati tags: Mel Gibson Apocalypto anti-Semitism movies entertainment chicago illinois dui