Is Mel Gibson really any
more screwed up than the rest of
You can't turn on the
news this week without seeing Mel Gibson's meltdown. In case you've been in a
media black out, Mel Gibson was pulled over for drunk driving. He became
combative during his arrest and started making anti-Semitic rants, saying Jews
are responsible for all of the world's wars and that he hates Jews and then he
accuses the arresting officer of being a Jew. Now Gibson is in a world of legal
trouble and has a PR nightmare on his hand. The man who brought us the brutal ,
commercially successful "Passion of the Christ" is outed as a bigot.
So Mel Gibson is a bigot.
Ouch.
Is he any worse than any
of the other
No.
Let's take a look at some
other celebrity meltdowns.
Tom Cruise went on
international television to tell people that psychiatrists are evil and that
post-partum depression is a made-up phenomenon to get women to take
anti-depressants… the world's most evil medication. Of course, Tom Cruise's
other recent bizarre behavior includes his couch-jumping incident on Oprah, a
whirlwind romance of a much younger woman who, by some accounts walks around in
a strange brain-washed daze and his manic appearances at movie premiers where
he jumps into crowds of adoring well-wishers.
Despite the Tom Cruise
meltdown, millions of people still went to see his latest movie Mission
Impossible:3.
Britney Spears' life has
been one meltdown after another. Her 56-hour-lonjg Vegas wedding to a childhood
friend, her quick romance then surprise wedding to current husband Kevin
Federline, her affinity for going barefoot in gas station bathrooms, declaring
that it's okay for her to hold her infant son on her lap while she's driving
because "she's country" Brit has been a bit of a mess for the last… three or
four years.
Britney Spears is still
selling albums and, if she can get her act together, is setting herself up for
the greatest pop-comeback in history.
Let's not forget the
Oscar-night performance given by Angelina Jolie, the world's most beloved
celebrity woman (right now). A few years ago she walked the red carpet, not
with Brad Pitt, but with her brother. The world watched in horror as she and
her brother exchanged passionate kisses multiple times while declaring their
love for each other.
Angelina Jolie is now a
UN Ambassador, making a real difference in the world, adopting orphans and
generally making the world a better place. Her movies will never struggle at
the box office. Despite the fact she tongue-kissed her brother. I mean….
ewwwwwwwwwwww.
Celebrities aren't
politicians, they're not role models, they're not heroes, they're just people
who happen to be better looking than the rest of us so they're in movies and on
TV and on our radios. They're not smarter than us. They don't know more about
how the world works. They live in a strange world where money is no object and
their every whim is catered to. When they go off the deep end, it becomes a
public event because there's nothing the public loves more than watching a
falling star.
Celebrity analysts who
pollute the air-waves with their opinions about Mel Gibson's future love to say
his career is over. ABC has already dropped Gibson from a future project about
the Holocaust. Gibson has issued statements asking for forgiveness and healing.
The fact is, Mel Gibson is going to be just fine. This will blow over. He will
make grand gestures to prove that he is not, in fact, a bigot. He will make a
movie that puts him back in the good favor of Hollywood, the Jewish community
and celebrity watchers, who will no doubt have already moved on to analyze
another celebrity meltdown.
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