Mel Gibson opens up about his anti-Semitic comments: 'I was loaded and angry and arrested'
Ten years after losing his star status in the movie industry following a leaked recording of him saying anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 DUI arrest, his new directing effort "Hacksaw Ridge," starring Andrew Garfield, is generating Oscar talk and seems to be the beginning of a comeback.
Leading up to the release of the movie on November 4, the Hollywood Film Awards announced they will give Gibson a director honor, and he recently received a standing ovation at a screening of "Ridge" in Beverly Hills.
On Thursday, Variety's "Playback" podcast had an interview with Gibson in which he spoke candidly about the 2006 arrest and fallout from the recording.
"It was an unfortunate incident," Gibson said on the podcast. "I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime. And then it was made public by him for profit, and by members of - we'll call it the press. So, not fair. I guess as who I am, I'm not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever."
Business Insider talked to a friend of Gibson, writer/director Shane Black, in the spring, and Black said he believes Gibson has "essentially been blacklisted in the industry."
Gibson feels it's time for people to move on.
"Ten years have gone by," Gibson said on the Variety podcast. "I'm feeling good. I'm sober, all of that kind of stuff, and for me it's a dim thing in the past. But others bring it up, which kind of I find annoying, because I don't understand why after 10 years it's any kind of issue. Surely if I was really what they say I was, some kind of hater, there'd be evidence of actions somewhere. There never has been.
"I've never discriminated against anyone or done anything that sort of supports that reputation," Gibson continued. "And for one episode in the back of a police car on eight double tequilas to sort of dictate all the work, life's work, and beliefs, and everything else that I have and maintain for my life is really unfair."
Listen to the podcast here: