Whoopi Goldberg: Mel Gibson is not a racist

[Enrique]

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Whoopi_Goldberg_Defends_Mel_Gibson_Celeb_Speak/7003018

On The View this morning, Whoopi Goldberg surprisingly took Mel Gibson's side when his recent antics were brought up as one of the show's "hot topics." She said,

"I don’t like what he did here, but I know Mel and I know he’s not a racist… He may be a bonehead… I have had a long friendship with Mel...You can say he’s being a bonehead but I can’t sit and say that he’s a racist having spent time with him in my house with my kids. I can’t say it and so I really just need to say that. I don’t like what he’s done. Make no mistake…"

Joy Behar countered with:

"Do you think he’s anti-Semitic?

Whoopi replied:

"I think he’s an a**hole. Drunks say stupid stuff to people all the time because they’re drunk. They’re out of control. They are not thinking they are idiotic. That’s why I don’t like alcohol. I can’t say anything about that because I know what people are like when they’re drunk. This rant, I don’t think he’s drunk on this rant…"

What she means: It's hard to say. On the one hand, she feels obligated to get the word out that she's been around Gibson and she's never observed such terrible behavior while in his presence. On the other hand, it's surprising she thinks drinking is an acceptable explanation of why he'd say such hurtful things to his ex-girlfriend and about different ethnicities. She thinks the alcohol is creating the hate speech, whereas I think most of us believe the alcohol is only making it easier for Mel to voice the beliefs that have been in his head for a long time.

Whatever the case, her friend is in trouble and she's feeling the need to step up on his behalf. However, she's making it look like she endorses his beliefs by putting herself in such close proximity to him. But if they're buddies, who paint their fingernails A-List red and watch Cold Mountain together, I'd understand why Goldberg stood up for him. It's rare to find a companion like that these days.

[closeupready]

1. Whoopi Goldberg has such poor judgment.

Or rather she's a poor judge of character. First, she says that "it wasn't rape-rape" then she says here that Mel Gibson is a mere asshole, but not a bigot despite the numerous accounts of his bigotry towards all minorities.

She needs to hang up her View gig, IMO.

[hedgehog]

2. Let's say Mel was exposed to those attitudes as a kid and

trained himself to overcome them . A sober Mel is not a racist. Let him become drunk and then those long buried attitudes come crawling out of his lizard brain. A drunk Mel is a racist. I think it's safe to say rather, that a drunk Mel is a very angry man out to say the most hateful, hurtful things he can come up with.

[LostinVA]

5. A sober Mel has said nasty things about gays and women in interviews

And, in vino veritas is a very true saying. Alcohol doesn't change you, it just takes your governor off.

[mkultra]

53. i disagree with that

Alcohol defintley changes a drunk. They will far more easily say things they dont really think just to stab at someone.

[Poll_Blind]

13. I don't know if what you said is the case, but I have noticed it to be VERY TRUE of some...

...people I've known over the years. There is a different side of them which is not them, more like a version of them they overcame/changed/tried to "throw away". And for the most part, if not completely, they succeeded in changing. But alcohol or other drugs bring out unseen sides, even to people who have known them for years.

PB

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

36. For the first 12 yrs. of his life, he lived 15 minutes from me, right by Peekskill, NY.

There is a large African-American population there, and I could just imagine his father cursing about it. Then when he
(the father) had a windfall from a workman's compensation claim, he moved his whole family to Australia.

[hedgehog]

41. I thought the move to Austalia was based on having a mess of draft aged boys?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

46. Wasn't Aulstralia in Vietnam too?

[hedgehog]

49. Austalia did send troops, but I don't think there was a draft.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

50. Yes, there was. It ended om 1972. link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Australia

[LostinVA]

3. Well, I'm a lesbian, and I say he IS a homophobe and misogynist

Whoopi also excused Michael Vick.

[soleft]

22. Jodie Foster has defended him in the past

I wonder if she will continue to support him - the whole thing about deserving to be raped for dressing provocatively.

Haven't seen you in a while, hope you're well.

[joeybee12]

23. She wanted to be in his movie...

why bother have scruples with a paycheck is on the line?

[LostinVA]

26. Yup

[LostinVA]

27. Back just in time for the latest round of PolanskiGate!

Pretty good -- trying to survive this insanely hot and humid summer!

[seabeyond]

4. per her, polanski isnt a rapist either. nt

[LostinVA]

7. Or Vick a sociopathic animal murderer

[seabeyond]

25. i enjoy whoopi lots, but think i wont pay much attention to her judgment. nt

[LostinVA]

28. lol -- exactly!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

40. That's because, if you listen to her often enough, it takes a lot for her to judge anyone for their

actions, no matter how bad those actions might be.

[seabeyond]

42. i understand. i hear ya. and i can appreciate it too. but

there reality, hers is denial.

gibson slurs are racist
polenski did rape
and vick did commit animal abuse.

she can say, what gibson said was racist, but he has always treated her well and she has seen no racism

polanski did rape the girl, but i like him anyway

vick did commit animal abuse but i forgive him.

[Warpy]

6. Haven't you ever known someone who is great sober

but a total asshole as soon as he or she gets a few drinks on board?

If you haven't yet, you will eventually. There are plenty of them out there.

Alcohol is a bad drug. Gibson is demonstrating that fully.

I just hope he gets help. He might be a bonehead but he's a talented bonehead.

[CBGLuthier]

14. I myself can be an asshole if I get drunk

But I still don't beat women, call them names, or rant about other races. Nope. Not ever.

[Enrique]

17. David Hasselhoff gets drunk and doesn't yell racial slurs

why can't Mel just take off his shirt, get down on the floor, and eat a burger?

[CakeGrrl]

32. Agreed. Being drunk isn't enough of an excuse

for using racial slurs and ranting about hating women.

If you don't want to say those things, you won't.

The alcohol (drugs?) may have lowered his guard, but it has to be in you intrinsically to be able to say stuff like that.

[JuniperLea]

35. I think they are only great at hiding their true self...

And the alcohol allows the true self out.

Yeah, I'm well aware of the phenomenon. Talent doesn't excuse a person for being an asshat.

My favorite guitarist of all time is an asshat Republican. I love his music; he's still an asshat.

[Warpy]

43. I think the snakes in their heads are more vicious than mine are

and everyone I've known like that has come from a violent family, whether or not alcohol was a part of the violence.

Look at how crazy Gibson's dad is for where his stuff came from.

He needs to stop drinking. That's the bottom line. He's only got three options if he doesn't.

[Spazito]

8. This says it all, imo...

"She thinks the alcohol is creating the hate speech, whereas I think most of us believe the alcohol is only making it easier for Mel to voice the beliefs that have been in his head for a long time."

I believe he is espousing what he believes, he is able to hide it until alcohol brings out the REAL Gibson. I suspect, behind closed doors, Gibson is hateful without the influence of alcohol.

[LostinVA]

29. [phone]

Alcohol doesn't change people, it just takes the governor off their mouth and actions.

[fascisthunter]

39. .

[The Second Stone]

9. Mel can control himself when he wants to

just like the rest of us. When he is in private or drunk he sometimes doesn't control himself.

What is he contributing to the public debate? Not much one way or the other, cept for that knuckle dragging church of his.

In private it would appear that he has someone inside him who is not very attractive just like the rest of us. He doesn't appear to act on it publicly.

[Oregone]

10. Whoopi is an idiot

And her anti-tax rants are ridiculous. She thinks she has some special knowledge on a variety of issues, but she so often ends up looking stupid.

[CBGLuthier]

11. I have to wonder if money changed hands.

Would Al Roker not play ball?

I think Mel bought himself some apologies. I bet Ben Stein will tell us Mel isn't anti-semitic and Carlos Mencia can weigh in on his great love for mexicans.

[lame54]

what does Danny Glover have to say about him?

[City of Mills]

31. "I'm too old for this shit!"

Would be my guess...

[kjackson227]

12. Goldberg is just posturing for more attention. eom

[Xicano]

15. Sorry Whoopi but I disagree with you.

Here's why. Because in order for someone to use such language in the manner in which he has means he has to draw that particular hateful contemptuous thought from his mind first. There's one thing about alcohol Whoopi, it has a propensity to dissolve inhibitions. The Mel Gibson you are referring to Whoopi is his public face. The Mel Gibson on the audio tape is Mel Gibson himself.

[LostinVA]

30. Exactly -- excellent post!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

16. Honestly, given the fact that Mel Gibson hates everyone/everything that isn't Mel Gibson...

He's probably not a racist, or mysoginist, or homophobe... or prejudiced to any one particular group.
He just hates everyone else. It's really that simple.

[Heidi]

18. Drunkenness eases inhibition.

He can hide his racism when he's sober and entertaining Whoopi and kids. How gullible is she, anyway?

[Brewman_Jax]

19. In vino veritas

He made his feelings known, and he's a racist. Mel is grown, and he can take his lumps.

[old mark]

20. So Whoppi is saying."Some of my best friends are drunken assholes..."? nt

[pipi_k]

21. Two things...

1. Whoopi apparently believes that alcohol is a good explanation for his behavior. I agree. That does NOT mean, however, that it's an excuse. An explanation is not the same as an excuse, just for the information of anyone who wants to make them the same.


2. Alcohol inspired rantings wouldn't necessarily trigger someone to say things that "may have existed" in the person's head. How many times have we heard stories of people who, in a drunken stupor, have said to a total stranger, "I love you". How many of us have done it? Does that mean we love the stranger we're with? No. It means the alcohol has acted on a very primitive part of the brain and often causes people to do or say things they wouldn't have done while sober.


I'm not defending Mel Gibson in any way. I'm just saying that people who have never had experience with anyone who is an alcoholic who may also have a mental illness should not be so quick to judge him.

[PM Martin]

24. 'The View'...

:rofl:

They have no idea to what they are talking about.

[Danger Mouse]

33. Danger Mouse: Whoophi Goldberg is delusional.

Mel Gibson is a fucking pig.

[fascisthunter]

38. indeed

[JuniperLea]

34. Whoopi needs to stfu...

She's lost all credibility. Anyone who thinks there's rape, then there's "rape-rape" needs their head examined.

[Lucian]

37. I didn't know Whoopi Goldberg was still relevant.

Huh.

[guitar man]

44. I've had drunk assholes for friends too

And I went out of my way to make excuses for them. It never made what they did right and it damn sure never helped any of them, it just made me one of their enablers and when I figured that out I knocked it off and gave them some tough love instead.

Whoopi isn't doing Mel any favors. I don't know Mel, just what I read about him and see on tv. She does know him. If she's any kind of friend at all she will give him a foot up the ass instead of making excuses for his lousy behavior.

[Jim Sagle]

45. Whoopi Goldberg is a goddamn bozo.

[bullwinkle428]

47. Whoopi defended that motherfucking sadist Vick, so I don't

really trust a thing that comes out of her mouth.

[proteus_lives]

48. She also defended Roman Polanski.

She's a very stupid woman.

[cornermouse]

51. He could be an alcoholic or....

He could have a brain tumor. Either way its not my business. None of yours either, now that I think about it.

[Butch350]

52. Alright, Alright...

which one of you will step up and throw the "FIRST STONE"?

[Taverner]

54. Look Ms Golberg, I understand. I really do.

When you see a group of people attacking someone, you step in their defense. It's your nature, and I admire that.

But Gibson is a racist of the first degree. The Gibson you knew was the rich, young, not-quite-totally-brainwashed Mel Gibson. The Gibson who exists in his body today is a racist pig, no ifs ands or buts.

[madokie]

55. You know there was a time when I thought that Whoopi was the best there was

but not anymore.