14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not really that long that the public and the movie industry in general declared that Mel Gibson’s “trespassing” from 2006 was forgiven and a new scandal is already brewing. Recordings of the actor during one of his outbursts in the presence of his ex Oksana Grigorieva have surfaced and on one of them he can be heard hurling the N-word at her. Understandably, many are not happy about it.
Minutes after Radar Online broke the story on the content of the tapes that Oksana has in her possession and is ready to use in court, if need be, to prove that she feared for her life for a very solid reason, TMZ was assaulted by statements coming from various organizations for equality, as well as from colored celebrities looking to speak out against such a damaging attitude. The recording clearly paints a very negative picture of Gibson, proving that, aside from being an anti-Semite, he’s also a racist. It can also be seen as a cry for help – and help is precisely what he needs, many believe.
“Mel Gibson’s outburst demonstrates once again that we are far from a society that is ‘beyond race and racism.’ His penchants for anti-Semitic and racist diatribes reveal the actor’s fundamental character flaw. He needs help. But as a society we must redouble our efforts to combat racism and eradicate racial inequalities wherever they may exist,” Reverend Jackson says. Abe Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, agrees, saying, “Most people who hate one group hate another. Not only has Mel Gibson shown himself to be an anti-Semite, he’s a racist.”
Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred underlines that the leaked tape also confirms Gibson is abusive to women, yet another thing for which he should seek professional help. “[They are] the worst kind of racism. They clearly demonstrate a woman hating temperament which, in my opinion, is dangerous to women,” she says of Gibson’s statements. Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network also issued a statement on the use of the N-word, reading, “The use of the ‘N’ word and calling women denigrating terms combined with Gibson being accused of anti-semitism makes us wonder whether he is an outright bigot. We intend to aggressively look into this matter.”
Leon Jenkins, President of the LA NAAC (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), not only puts Gibson on blast, but he also offers a solution for him to redeem himself in the eyes of the public. For acting like an “out of date and out of control racist,” Gibson stands no chance of making things right again with a simple apology, Jenkins says. Instead, he needs to get his act straight – and show concrete proof that he’s determined to change.