Why does the right keep defending Mel Gibson?

Written by Julie Millican

Published

Conservative blogger Doug Powers--who is guest blogging for Michelle Malkin-- attacked Mel Gibson's former agency for dropping Gibson as a client after audio surfaced allegedly of Gibson threatening his then-girlfriend in a racist, misogynist manner. Powers argued that Gibson was dropped simply “because he used the 'N-word' in an unhinged privately recorded rant,” but that Gibson's former agency “continues to represent the likes of P. Diddy, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blight, Eminem, 50 Cent, and many more, who broadcast the same awful word to millions--daily, unabashedly and continually.” Powers defense of Gibson--who is allegedly heard on the recording telling his then-girlfriend that she deserves to “be raped by a pack of n***ers” because he felt she was dressing too provocatively--harkens back to conservatives' defense of Gibson following his 2006 arrest, in which Gibson made a litany of anti-Semitic and sexist remarks.

RadarOnline has posted audio, allegedly of Gibson, telling his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva that she looked like “a Vegas bitch, a Vegas whore” and that when she went “out in public” she was “an embarrassment to me” because “you look like a fucking bitch on heat and if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault, alright? Because you provoked it! You are provocatively dressed all the time with your fake boobs you feel you have to show off in tight outfits and tight pants and you can see your p**sy from behind.” Gibson is also reportedly being investigated for allegations that he physically assaulted Grigorieva as she held their infant daughter. In other audio recordings, Grigorieva is reportedly heard saying, “what kind of man is that who would hit a woman when she is holding a child in her hands, hitting her twice in the face? What kind of man is that?” to which Gibson allegedly replied, “You know what--you f***ing deserved it.” Gibson also reportedly threatened to kill Grigorieva “with a handgun at his estate.”

Powers' take? Observe:

Selective 'N-Word' Outrage: William Morris Agency Dumps Mel Gibson

By Doug Powers • July 10, 2010 02:28 PM

**Written by guest-blogger Doug Powers

Let me get this straight -- the William Morris Agency has reportedly dropped Mel Gibson as a client because he used the “N-word” in an unhinged privately recorded rant, but William Morris continues to represent the likes of P. Diddy, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, 50 Cent, and many more, who broadcast the same awful word to millions -- daily, unabashedly and continually?

Gotta love Hollywood.

Take up a career in Hip-Hop, Mel -- the WMA will bring you back on board in a heartbeat.

It is almost impossible to believe that anyone would put their neck on the line and defend Gibson right now. It is even more absurd to suggest that Gibson got dropped by his agency simply for using the N-word and that Gibson's use of the word is in similar context to that of hip hop artists. But, alas, the right-wing media does have a bizarre history of defending Gibson from his racist, sexists rants.

In 2006, after Gibson made a series of anti-Semitic, sexist comments when he was arrested for driving under the influence, several conservatives leapt to Gibson's defense, suggesting that those outraged by Gibson's comments held a “hatred of Christians” or that criticism of Gibson was an extension of criticism of Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. (Refresher: According to the original police report, when Gibson was arrested for drunk driving, he referred to a female officer as “sugar tits” and said, “F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” before asking one of the officers, “Are you a Jew?” Gibson subsequently apologized for his anti-Semitic remarks, blaming his “inebriated state” for his outburst).

As Media Matters noted, several conservatives were far from outraged:

  • on MSNBC's Scarborough Country, William A. Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said, “There's a lot of people who have made comments which are bigoted who are not necessarily bigots,” adding that he is “concerned now about piling on.” Of those who won't forgive Gibson, Donohue said: “Who gives a damn about those people?” Donohue then asked, “What kind of blood do they want out of this man?”
  • On Fox News' Fox & Friends, radio host and regular Fox & Friends guest Erich “Mancow” Muller said, “I can't believe he is anti-Semitic. I can't believe The Passion of the Christ, they thought was anti-Semitic, because our hero was Jewish.”
  • In his August 2 column on National Review Online, John Derbyshire excused Gibson's comments because "[t]he guy was drunk, for heaven's sake. We all say and do dumb things when we are drunk." Derbyshire added: “As little as I care for Mel and his splatter-fest Brit-hating oeuvre, though, I care even less for the schoolmarmish, prissy, squealing, skirt-clutching, sissified, feminized, pansified, preening moral vanity of the vile and anti-human Political Correctness cult.”
  • A press release posted by the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND) asked ,“Where's the Compassion for Mel Gibson?” Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of BOND and an occasional Fox News guest, was quoted in the release as saying: “I am sorry that Mel Gibson and his family are going through this difficult period. Gibson absolutely did the right thing by offering a heartfelt apology and asking for forgiveness from the Jewish community -- he's even asked to meet with Jewish leaders. To those who will not be satisfied until Gibson is destroyed -- I say 'shame on you. Where's your humanity?' ”