Mel Gibson Interview Gets Awkward After Will Smith Slap Question

Will Smith’s slap has held the headlines for a week now, which is somewhat exhausting given the circumstances, but it also continues to provide interesting avenues. Take this Mel Gibson interview with Fox News’ personality Jesse Watters on Friday, one that you can think of as a side quest to the central situation because Gibson has little to do with Smith or Chris Rock.

Still, Gibson has his own past controversies far beyond anything Smith has done and he represents a side of Hollywood that a network like Fox News enjoys broaching. That said, this awkward chat ended on an equally awkward note after Watters brought up Smith’s slap.

“I was wondering if you had been the one that jumped up out of his seat and slapped Chris Rock, if you would’ve been treated the same way, Mel,” Watters asked, almost seeming to fan cast Gibson and pull him into the scandal a bit. Gibson, to his credit, seemed to assume this type of question was coming and started to laugh while looking off-camera, prompting one of the Lethal Weapon star’s handlers to break in.

“Um, thank you, Jesse. That is our time,” the female voice can be heard telling Watters, leading to a strange end of an interview that was meant to promote his upcoming movie with Mark Wahlberg, Father Stu.

Watters motivation seems a bit off, though it does seem like anybody in his position might take the chance to ask. The best indication of that is Gibson’s immediate response. One could also point to Gibson’s own opportunities to react to comedic jabs at awards shows, having been mocked by Ricky Gervais twice at two different Golden Globes events.

Bringing Gibson into the conversation also allows the actor’s own past misdeeds to get dug up and shared yet again. Despite attempts to rehabilitate the action star, many online are using this moment to ask why he didn’t have his awards and nominations scrubbed due to his controversial actions away from the stage. This includes his drunken tirade at police officers which featured anti-Semitic and sexist insults toward the police and his later troubling phone messages to Oksana Grigorieva that Gibson called, “one terribly awful moment in time.” According to ABC News, Gibson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery against Grigorieva, including the calls that Gibson says he regrets. Despite this, the contents were violent, racist and shocking.

All that stated, Gibson has had plenty of defenders. Many are the same speaking in support of Will Smith currently. The situations are far from the same, which is why those raising questions seem so perplexed.