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Robert Downey Jr. urges Hollywood to forgive Mel Gibson
By EJ DicksonOctober 16th, 2011, 4:30 pmComments (6)
Avengers star and thinking lady's sex symbol Robert Downey, Jr. urged Hollywood to forgive Mel Gibson in a speech at the 25th annual American Cinematheque Award gala, prompting the audience to launch into a standing ovation and thinking ladies' ovaries to be all like, "Wait…. what?"
After Gibson presented an award to his longtime friend at the ceremony last Friday, Downey, Jr. told the audience how Gibson supported him during his struggles with substance abuse, posting his insurance bond when film execs declined to do so. Downey Jr. told the audience that at the time, Gibson advised him to "hug the cactus," or accept his inner demons. Alluding to the controversy over Gibson's highly publicized anti-Semitic remarks and racist leaked phone rants, Downey Jr. remarked that Gibson has "hugged the cactus for long enough." "Unless you are without sin ... you should forgive him and let him work," he said.
Although Downey, Jr.'s relationship with Mel (or, as my Jewish dad ironically calls him, "Uncle Mel") is heartwarming, Gibson is not exactly a helpless victim of the brutal and unforgiving Hollywood machine. The man is sitting on an approximately $700 million fortune, so it's not like he's living in a box on Wilshire Boulevard, offering mouth sex in exchange for a role in a TV movie opposite Yasmine Bleeth. So RDJ, thanks for the advice, but something tells me that we'll be reintroducing Uncle Mel to the cactus soon enough.
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Mel Gibson
The Avengers
Commentarium (6 Comments)
The difference is that substance abuse is a disease, and Downey's abuse hurt only himself and his loved ones. Gibson's bigotry is not a disease; it is a character flaw. His anti-Semitism and sexism hurts many more people than himself and his loved ones. I also don't recall any stories about Downey engaging in domestic violence, unlike Gibson. Downey deserves empathy and forgiveness; until Gibson repudiates his bigoted expressions (including his anti-Semitic snuff film about Jesus), he deserves no forgiveness and no career as an entertainer.
Well said. Hate is different from self-destruction, though they can intermingle.
You can forgive someone without condoning the wrong they have committed. It's also possible that RDJ's demonstration of forgiveness was primarily to show Gibson how it's done: now it's Gibson's turn to forgive anyone he perceives has wronged him, and to give up the hate he's held on to for far too long.
I won't argue against the assertion that Gibson deserves no forgiveness, but I do think there's merit to the idea that RDJ's plea is more than a simple whitewash attempt.
I could be mistaken, but has Gibson actually apologized, even insincerely?
Wow. Yasmine Bleeth. Where the hell is she now?