This has happened to the actor/director a few times before. The thing that needs to be mentioned, though, is that he almost controlled his temper this time. He made it through the interview, but not quite to the finish line. See the CNN report below:
While promoting his new movie, "Edge of Darkness," Gibson is shown on tape making some unsavory comments.
In a video that has now gone viral, Gibson let an expletive slip while he was still wearing a microphone and appearing on camera for a segment on Chicago's WGN-TV with reporter Dean Richards.
Richards asked Gibson if he felt like he was "a different person, a better person," than he was four or five years ago, noting that the actor has "had a lot of ups and downs" since then.
In 2006, Gibson was arrested for driving while under the influence, and allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks to his arresting officers.
During the interview with Richards, Gibson responded that the past few years have been "a real roller coaster ride," but said he thinks he's the same person he always was.
Richards then asked Gibson if he felt the public would receive him differently, at which point Gibson became visibly agitated.
"That's been almost four years, dude," he told Richards. "I've moved on. But I guess you haven't." Richards said he just wondered whether Gibson thought the public had moved on, to which Gibson replied, "Well, I certainly hope so. That was a while back, and I've done all the necessary mea culpas, so ... let's move on, dude."
Richards wrapped up the interview with a standard thank-you-for-coming, and Gibson, drinking coffee, gave the reporter a thumbs-up before muttering a loud-and-clear "a--hole" right into his mic before the satellite feed was cut.
This comes after an interview with CNN affiliate station KTLA, where entertainment reporter Sam Rubin asked Gibson if his long absence from acting had anything to do with the alleged anti-Semitic remarks. Gibson denied he ever uttered statements of that nature, and then asked Rubin, who is Jewish, "I gather you have a dog in this fight?"
Gibson has since apologized to Rubin for the query, Rubin confirmed.
Gibson's publicist Alan Nierob said Gibson was not aiming his expletive at WGN's Richards, but rather at Nierob himself, who was "pulling faces" during the interview.
On Richards' WGN-TV blog the reporter shared his side of the story.
The interview "was pleasant enough for the first half but as my questions became more challenging, his tone and even physical demeanor changed," Richards wrote.
"I didn't brow beat him. I didn't make a judgment on him," the blog read. "Apparently, he thought I'd back off. We don't roll like that in Chicago. ... A star of his caliber, presumably with good PR people, should have been prepared with a simple response."
I dunno. I get the sense the reporter was kind of on a power trip. Gibson answered the question, but the reporter forced the issue when he noticed the actor/director was a bit jilted. Gibson was stupid to pop off like he did years ago and has paid the price, but this interview was supposed to be about his new movie.
At the same time, it seems like a really stupid question: "Do you think the public will receive you differently?" What the hell does that mean. It's so vague it barely deserves a response in the first place, so Gibson was just as stupid as the interviewer to let that one bother him.
The guy is a brilliant actor and director, and he can also be a prick. But we're talking about directing here, not on whether he's the kind of guy you want to watch a ballgame with.
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