The Mel Gibson Embarrassment
As a faithful Catholic, I respected Mel Gibson greatly for his film The Passion of the Christ. Despite a drumbeat of controversy and calls by some Jewish organizations to boycott the film, it was meaningful and true to the Gospels as we Catholics believe.
I defended Gibson in my own circles back then when ugly rumors of anti-Semitism were attached to the film. To this day, I don’t believe the film to have such an undertone, and it was a beautiful film for those of us who believe.
Today, I want to distance myself from Gibson as much as a human being could. After a recording surfaced where Gibson not only verbally abused his girlfriend - a woman he cheated on his wife with and eventually caused his divorce - but also used racial epithets, the world is continuing to crumble around this hypocrite.
As a Catholic, he doesn’t represent any form of Catholicism known to man. That was clear when he used anti-Semitic language after being arrested for a DUI back in 2006 and is again clear today as we hear him abuse his mistress-turned-girlfriend earlier this year. Gibson appears to be an unhinged hateful man bent on self-destruction at all costs. Besides being an alleged woman- beater, Gibson continues to drag down well-meaning Catholics and Christians who were touched by his masterpiece in the movie about the life and death of Christ.
The Gibson example shows how sometimes a work of art can be so beautiful yet its creator so ugly. It shows that a man can know the absolute truth, yet not practice it. Gibson's behavior demonstrates the disconnect between knowing something profound intellectually, and yet not understanding it spiritually.
Mel Gibson’s career is over. Perhaps he will make some sort of comeback, as Americans seems willing to forgive celebrities for just about anything. But to me, Mel Gibson is done. Even the William Morris Agency fired Gibson after these allegations came to light. No matter how successful he’s been in the past, people are now looking at the hateful actor as toxic waste. I can’t say as I blame them, as he’s been on thin ice for a long time.
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