14 DAY TRIAL // Mel Gibson knows what it’s like to make one mistake and be turned into a target, be vilified by the media and the public, and be forced to learn to cope with a situation for which you’re not even responsible. So, he feels for Shia LaBeouf.
The former “Transformers” star is now believed to be either in a rehabilitation center or enlisted in a program meant to help him overcome his alcohol problem. For months, he’s been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism for his weird behavior, weird statements, and a series of incidents that occurred while intoxicated.
Most recently, he was arrested and kicked out of the musical “Cabaret” on Broadway, after he started slapping people in the venue across the back of their necks and then caused a scene with the police, spitting and swearing at the officers.
Before that, he was walking red carpets with paper bags on his head and taking part in one-man exhibits where paying patrons could sit at a table across from him and hurl profanities or whatever else they felt like at him.
Whatever it is that’s troubling Shia, once such a promising Hollywood star, it must be serious. Speaking with IndieWire, Mel Gibson says that, whatever it is, it must also have been caused by the media, at least partially.
“When I see someone like Shia LaBeouf with the bag on his head and stuff, my heart goes out to the poor guy. Because I think he’s suffering in some way. Or why (else) would he do that?” he says.
“People are in line to sort of point the finger at him and say that he’s this, that, or the other. It’s easy to judge. But I’m sure he’s going through some kind of personal, very painful, cathartic thing that he has to exorcise and get out there. And he’ll probably play it out and come back… He’ll be all right. I actually like the kid. I think he’s good,” Gibson adds.
He knows all about going through phases and making a comeback, having been through something similar himself. It’s perhaps why he says that, in such situations, celebrities tend to become a “target,” which, in turn, forces them to “to be really adept at tap dancing and dodging the bullets.” “And sometimes you get hit,” Gibson adds.
Gibson’s image took a serious hit in 2006 (a much more serious hit than Shia’s), when he was arrested on suspicion of DUI and he began by threatening the arresting officers, only to end up spewing anti-Semitic and sexist remarks.
Things got even worse for him right after he split from ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva and she leaked or sold to the media recordings he had left on her answering machine.
Clearly, Gibson has had to deal with much more pressure and media attention that LaBeouf, so this is probably why he feels compelled to speak in his defense.