warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

An Open Letter To Mel Gibson

Nicole Shoohed |
July 16, 2010 | 6:42 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Dear Mel Gibson, 

Enough is enough. You would think the world would have shunned you years ago after your blunt anti-Semitic rant around the time “The Passion of the Christ” came out and created one of the biggest film controversies in years. Well finally, after revealing your now racist and sexist beliefs—no surprise since the two certainly go hand-in-hand—the world will hopefully no longer allow you to keep an esteemed place in Hollywood. 

I feel like now is a perfect time to give you a piece of my mind and clearly relay the very things that make me cringe when I hear your name.

I think I’ll start with your father’s decision to publicly deny the Holocaust. When asked about your father’s remarks, you responded by saying your father has never lied to you. Okay, while this response is evasive on the surface, the very fact that you did not reject your father’s statement highlights your own hateful outlook. However, I do have to acknowledge how successful you were in never actually making your own anti-Semitic beliefs clear—you just resorted to supporting your bigoted father as a “truthful” man. Score one for Gibson. 

In 2004, I thought your own intolerable feelings would be revealed to the world when “The Passion of the Christ” premiered, carrying an offensive message that blatantly blamed Jews for the death of Jesus. Much of the world, however, sat back and argued that not only was the movie great but so was the message itself. 

And somehow, the movie was not only praised but you were also rewarded with over $300 million for a detestable lie. How you managed to survive this and rise above it with only a few bad PR burns still astounds me. 

It was no surprise to me that your anti-Semitic beliefs took full force and resurfaced again after being pulled over for drunk driving, finally confirming your prejudice. But despite this hopeful wake-up call, it is not reassuring to know that you cursed the “fucking Jews” and blamed them for all the wars in the world. 

Now, you claim to be a pious man. Yet I believe that this piety is merely a façade to hide your intolerant and narrow-minded belief system. Though you once shared your concrete belief with Australia’s Herald Sun that all non-Catholics are condemned to hell, including your wife at the time, your sheer hypocrisy was once again divulged when you left your wife—and defiled the sanctity of marriage no less—for your Russian girlfriend. 

And finally, the racist remarks—including uses of the terms “wetbacks” and the n-word—and the sexist, overbearing slurs against your girlfriend have finally made the world open its eyes to your true persona. Hopefully this time, a phony public apology for all these insulting statements will not change anyone’s mind. 

What you really need, Mel Gibson, is some serious counseling for your horrifying behavior.  And the rest of us need to teach you a serious lesson that hatred of this level will not be tolerated or rewarded with millions of dollars and success in Hollywood. 

Sincerely, 

No Fan of Yours 

 

To reach staff reporter Nicole Shoohed, click here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness