He had a brave heart.
Mel Gibson is eternally grateful to his “Air America” co-star Robert Downey Jr. after the Oscar winner got here to his defense following his 2006 Malibu arrest.
“One time I found myself in a difficult situation that kind of ended my career,” Gibson, 68, said in a profile of Downey Jr., 59. in Esquire.
“I was drunk in the backseat of a police car, I said some stupid s–t and suddenly: I was blacklisted. I am the poster boy for cancellation.”
Gibson’s statement refers to his arrest that made headlines in 2006 when, in keeping with a police report, the actor made a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks after being stopped by police on suspicion of driving under the influence.
“F – – kings of the Jews. Jews are responsible for all wars in the world. Are you a Jew?” the “What Women Want” star reportedly asked then-county sheriff’s deputy James Mee.
Mee added that the filmmaker “was threatening me almost constantly, saying he ‘owned Malibu’ and would spend all his money to ‘get even’ with me.”
Gibson issued an apology shortly after the incident.
“There is no excuse and there should be no tolerance for anyone who thinks or expresses any anti-Semitic remarks,” he said.
“I want to especially apologize to all members of the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words I said to a law enforcement officer the night of my arrest on a DUI charge.”
On his profile, the creator of the film “The Passion of the Christ” revealed that the “Iron Man” star helped him get back on his feet.
“After a few years, he invited me to some award he was receiving,” Gibson recalls. “We always had this swing where if he was on the wagon, I was off, and if I was on the wagon, he was off.”
According to Gibson, he “almost didn’t exist in Hollywood at the time.”
“He stood up and spoke on my behalf,” recalls the “Patriot” star. “It was a brave, generous and sort gesture. That’s why I loved him.”
Downey Jr. Later he thanked his longtime friend in his acceptance speech at the twenty fifth American Cinematheque Awards.
“There’s a reason why I asked Mel to give me this award,” he said. “When I could not get sober, he told me to not lose hope and encouraged me to search out faith.
“It didn’t have to be him or anyone else, as long as it was rooted in forgiveness,” the Tropic Thunder alum said. “And I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me as the lead in a movie that was made especially for him.”
In his acceptance speech, the “Oppenheimer” star stated that what Gibson ever asked for in return “was that one day I would help another guy in some small way.”
“It’s reasonable to assume that at the time he didn’t imagine that the next guy would be him or that one day it would be tonight,” he joked, shortly before calling on the audience to forgive Gibson his “transgressions and offer him the same clean slate how you got me.”
During Downey Jr.’s SAG Award acceptance speech for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role. placed Gibson in the company of several other famous actors who, in keeping with the “Chaplin” star, “taught him so much.”
Credit : nypost.com
