Jodie Foster
Having met on the set of 1994 movie Maverick, Jodie and Mel hit it off immediately and have remained firm friends ever since. Resolutely refusing to bad-mouth Mel when recorded tapes of him screaming and making threats at his now ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva surfaced, Jodie cast her pal in The Beaver, her third movie as a director.
“People have struggles in life,” she shrugs. “Most of us don’t have ours expressed on the internet.” Adding, “He’s been an amazing friend, pretty much anyone who will ever meet or has met with or worked with him, adores him and he’s had his friends that surrounded him for a very long time.”
Read more: Mel Gibson finally breaks his silence
And Mel himself seems shocked at the strength and length of their friendship, telling journalist Allison Hope Weiner, “You couldn’t get two people who are more diametrically opposed on everything that they think about religion and politics than what we do. But there is a core of goodness there that’s undeniable, and I just love her.”
Robert Downey Jr
One of the biggest Hollywood comeback story successes ever, RDJ has remained a staunch Mel ally, crediting the Oscar winner with helping him relaunch his career after Hollywood turned its back on him.
Uninsurable and deemed unemployable after a series of failed attempts at rehab, jail time and a memorable episode when he was discovered asleep in a neighbour’s bed, Robert’s July 2001 sentencing to rehab and three-year parole, saw Mel Gibson forced to shut down his production of Hamlet, in which he had cast RDJ in the lead role (they had first become friends on the set of 1990 buddy flick Air America). Refusing to hold a grudge, in 2003, Mel paid Downey’s insurance bond for his comeback movie The Singing Detective, when no-one else would cast him.
“Mel put his a** on the line [for me], Robert has said. “The truth is, he and I have a friendship that spans well over two decades and he’s a stand-up guy; he always has been for me.” Adding, “There’s the reality of what happens to people and the mistakes that they make and the journeys they’re on and then there’s the media and then there’s everyone’s opinion. The way I honour my friendship with him is by not getting too involved in whatever the public discussion is.”
Whoopi Goldberg
The actress and View presenter has also refused to turn her back on her old pal, and was one of the first to insist that despite his use of racial slurs on the taped telephone conversations, that the Australian Oscar winner is not a racist.
“I know Mel, and I know he’s not a racist,” she has stated. “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.” And Mel recently publicly thanked Ghost star Whoopi for her support, saying, “I always liked her and loved her. I like her even more now because she got it.”
Robert De Niro
Screen legend De Niro has briefly weighed in on the scandal to offer words of support to struggling Mel. Staying characteristically tight-lipped, Bob did manage to say, “I hope he gets through all this. It’s unfortunate for him. You know.”
Sigourney Weaver
Having worked with Mel back in 1982 in the movie The Year of Living Dangerously, Sigourney has been quick to defend her long-time pal form the brickbats thrown at him for his taped rants.
“I didn’t notice any bigotry in him whatsoever,” she declared. “He was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever worked with… I can only go with what my knowledge of him was.” And the Alien actress added, “If anything, he seemed incredibly generous to everybody. I don’t really know where it comes from. It’s a shame – I hope he works this out.”
Winona Ryder
About a year after the scandal broke over Mel’s tapes, actress Winona Ryder revealed that she felt there had been something nasty about the actor for years.
Recalling a meeting at a party 15 year ago, the Black Swan star told GQ, “I was at one of those big Hollywood parties. And he was really drunk. I was with my friend [and Gibson] made a really horrible joke [about him].” Adding, “Somehow [my heritage] came up. He said something about ‘oven dodgers,’ but I didn’t get it. I’d never heard that before. It was just this weird, weird moment.”
Zach Galifianakis
Mel being dropped from the cast of The Hangover 2 sparked a huge ‘whodunnit?’ in Hollywood, as the media clamored to find out which of the cast members was behind his sacking. With fingers pointed at Zach Galifianakis, the producers were quick to deny that any cast member had approval over who was employed in a cameo role.
Dropping hints that he was behind the boycott, Zach, who plays hapless Alan in the hit flick, said, “[When it comes to] a movie you’re acting in, you don’t have a lot of control – you just show up and vomit your lines out. I mean, I’m not the boss [but] I’m in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something. But I can’t get the guys to ... I’m not making any leeway.”
And it was Zach’s anger which was said to have lead director, Todd Phillips, to back down, revealing, “I thought Mel would have been great in the movie. But I realise filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew.”
Jude Law
Although he hasn’t publicly come out against Mel, movie sources say Jude Law was disgusted by Mel’s taped rants, as well as his alleged domestic abuse of Oksana, which caused friction between the Brit actor and his Sherlock Holmes co-star Robert Downey Jr.
“Jude thinks what Mel did to Oksana was appalling, and he doesn’t think Hollywood should be supporting someone who’s behaved that way,” spilled a source to the Enquirer. “In Jude’s mind, Mel’s reputation is also tarnished for his disgraceful behaviour beyond Oksana – his sexism, aggression and his drinking problem. Jude thinks he’s been given enough second chances, and it annoys him that RDJ has allegiances to him.”
Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here
