Gibson Pleads Guilty to Drink Driving
Mel Gibson was sentenced to three years on probation yesterday after pleading guilty to drink driving.
The actor and director was arrested early on July 28 after he was stopped for driving at 87mph along the Pacific Coast highway in Malibu, California. His subsequent drunken tirade, laced with anti-Semitic comments, made headlines around the world.
Under the plea deal reached with prosecutors, Gibson will attend five Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every week for the next four-and-a-half months and three meetings a week for the following seven-and-a-half months, enrol in an alcohol abuse programme for three months and pay a fine of $1,300 (£690). He also volunteered to make a public service announcement about the hazards of drink driving and enter rehab.
His punishment comes in the wake of what many in the film industry considered a public relations disaster. While his last film, The Passion of the Christ, which he directed and financed, has taken more than $600m at the box office around the world, Gibson's power in Hollywood has been diminished by the events in Malibu.
When Gibson was stopped for speeding, the arresting officer found an open bottle of tequila inside the star's car. Gibson tried to flee the scene, and became abusive when the officer detained him in handcuffs.
As he was being driven to the police station to be booked, he launched a tirade of anti-Semitic comments, according to the arresting officer's report. The star allegedly said "the Jews" were responsible for all the wars in the world and asked the officer if he was Jewish. He said he would make the officer's life a misery. Authorities initially denied that there had been any incident at the time of the arrest and released a sanitised version of the report.
But a website, TMZ.com, obtained the original report, leading officials to admit that Gibson had been abusive. Gibson is also due to star in director Terrence Malick's next film, although how his commitment to AA meetings will affect his shooting schedule remains uncertain.
The actor and director was arrested early on July 28 after he was stopped for driving at 87mph along the Pacific Coast highway in Malibu, California. His subsequent drunken tirade, laced with anti-Semitic comments, made headlines around the world.
Under the plea deal reached with prosecutors, Gibson will attend five Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every week for the next four-and-a-half months and three meetings a week for the following seven-and-a-half months, enrol in an alcohol abuse programme for three months and pay a fine of $1,300 (£690). He also volunteered to make a public service announcement about the hazards of drink driving and enter rehab.
His punishment comes in the wake of what many in the film industry considered a public relations disaster. While his last film, The Passion of the Christ, which he directed and financed, has taken more than $600m at the box office around the world, Gibson's power in Hollywood has been diminished by the events in Malibu.
When Gibson was stopped for speeding, the arresting officer found an open bottle of tequila inside the star's car. Gibson tried to flee the scene, and became abusive when the officer detained him in handcuffs.
As he was being driven to the police station to be booked, he launched a tirade of anti-Semitic comments, according to the arresting officer's report. The star allegedly said "the Jews" were responsible for all the wars in the world and asked the officer if he was Jewish. He said he would make the officer's life a misery. Authorities initially denied that there had been any incident at the time of the arrest and released a sanitised version of the report.
But a website, TMZ.com, obtained the original report, leading officials to admit that Gibson had been abusive. Gibson is also due to star in director Terrence Malick's next film, although how his commitment to AA meetings will affect his shooting schedule remains uncertain.
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