In a recent TV interview, Mel Gibson was asked about the sexual misconduct allegations coming to light in Hollywood right now and he called the situation “healthy.”
While promoting the film Daddy’s Home 2, Gibson turned up on an Irish late-night talk show and he was asked his thoughts on the claims of sexual harassment and assault, according to The Wrap.
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“Things got shaken up a little bit and there is a lot of light being thrown into places where there were shadows and that is kind of healthy,” Gibson reportedly said. “It’s painful, but I think pain is a precursor to change.”
“Your heart goes out to the victims. And I think it’s unfortunate that they have to relive the whole thing in order to heal themselves,” the actor added.
In light of Gibson’s comments on the subject, many have been critical of him speaking out at all and pointing to his 2011 misdemeanor battery charge against his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, to which he pled “no contest.”
“Imagine consulting Mel Gibson, who beat the living daylights out of his ex-wife, about what he thinks of Hollywood scandals concerning the mistreatment & assaults of vulnerable women? Shameful,“ one person wrote on Twitter.
Gibson had also been accused of using racist language at Grigorieva, telling her she deserved to be beaten in an explosive rant that was alleged to have been recorded.
Additionally, the 61-year-old unleashed a racial tirade against a Jewish police officer in 2006 after being pulled over for drunk driving.