Robert Downey Jr. Defends Mel Gibson: Forgive Him and Let Him Work

Robert Downey Jr. was recently honored with a lifetime achievement at the American Cinematheque Award in Beverly Hills and, of all the things he could have spoken in his acceptance speech, he chose to use it to come to Mel Gibson’s defense.

Ever since the much mediated DUI arrest when he made anti-Semitic remarks and the following Oksana Grigorieva leaked audio tapes scandal, Mel Gibson has been considered persona non-grata in Hollywood.

Many voices even urged for a boycott of the once popular actor and director, saying he didn’t deserve acknowledgement for his work when he was such a vile human being.

Once asked about the scandal, Robert Downey Jr. was alone in saying he had no intention of judging another man when he had such a terrible past himself.

The other night, Robert made his position even clearer, by coming to Gibson’s defense and saying he should be forgiven and allowed to work in Hollywood, Us Weekly reports.

“Unless you are without sin – and if you are, you are in the wrong [expletive]-ing industry – you should forgive him and let him work,” Downey Jr. said in his acceptance speech.

He then recalled how Gibson offered him a second chance by casting him in a movie when no one wanted to work with him because of terrible reputation.

“He taught me many things, and I will use the ‘C’ word – courage. There’s nothing so much wrong with him. Of course you have to worry about the guy making the judgment here. He’s a good dude with a good heart,” the star explained.

Moreover, he went on to say, Gibson paid his debt to society for the damage he’s done with his behavior, of which he admitted was due to alcohol abuse. As such, there’s no reason the world shouldn’t move on.

“Mel and I have the same lawyer, same publicist, and same shrink. I couldn’t get hired and he cast me. He said if I accepted responsibility – he called it hugging the cactus – long enough, my life would take meaning,” RDJ said.

“And if he helped me, I would help the next guy. But it was not reasonable to expect the next guy would be him,” he added.