Whoopi Goldberg: 'Mel Gibson Is Not a Racist'

By PopEater Staff Posted Jul 13th 2010 08:47AM

Mel Gibson's tape-recorded rants at baby mama Oksana Grigorieva are horrifying, but they're not racist, according to Whoopi Goldberg, a friend of the actor.

"I know Mel, and I know he's not a racist," Whoopi said on 'The View' on Monday, seeming both earnest and cautious to weigh in. "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 don't like what he's done, make no mistake."

The tapes, of which RadarOnline.com has released two parts thus far, feature an enraged Gibson bellowing at the mother of his 8-month-old daughter, relentlessly employing C-words, F-bombs and, sadly and disturbingly, racial slurs including the N-word.

When Joy Behar asked if Goldberg considered Gibson anti-Semitic after his 2006 tirade against a Jewish police officer in LA , Goldberg began calling him "an ass" before stifling herself. Whoopi then pinpointed alcohol as the culprit. "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. I can't say anything about people like that because I know what they're like when they're drunk. This rant? I don't think he's drunk on this rant."

Whoopi concluded: "I'm not defending Mel. I'm simply saying I don't see him as [a racist] because that's not been my experience with him."

See the clip:

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=813591&pid=813590&uts=1278075821

http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/movies/?s_channel=us.moviespop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Mel Gibson Snapshots

Mel Gibson laughs between takes while shooting a scene from the upcoming movie "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" on Wednesday June 9, 2010 in Brownsville, Texas.

THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Mel Gibson Snapshots

©BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Oksana Grigorieva has a meeting with her lawyer. A nasty tape recording containing a tirade of abuse, allegedly from Mel Gibson, was leaked to the press causing an even bigger feud between the ex-couple EXCLUSIVE July 1st, 2010 Job: 100701NC1 Century City, California www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com

Mel Gibson Snapshots

Tags: Mel Gibson, The View, Whoopi Goldberg

Comments

(147)

Tuesday 13 July

By Nico Toscani

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Further proof that Whoopi is not really black. See, it works both ways...

By beeks

I agree that Mr. Gibson's threat of bodily harm towards the mother of his child or towards any human being is definately the most disturbing part of the whole situation.

By Bobby

Who cares what Whoopi thinks!! He is a racist!! End of Story!!

By Janeyre

Drunks say the things, most of us think. He however abused her. That is different...

By N2

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WHOOPI YOUR AN IDIOT. HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING UNDER A ROCK SOMEWHERE? HAVE YOU NOT READ THE POLICE REPORTS AND HIS OWN RANTING ABOUT THIS NAZI TIES? YOUR OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY, BUT I HAVE TO GIVE YOU A NOD FOR STICKING WITH YOUR FRIEND.

By JT

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You got it right N2 After all,Rosie taught Whuppy everything she knows.

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Stop listening To Glenn Beck and Rush Limpbaugh...their frying your brain

By dwells75

Being drunk causes you to say out loud the things you usually aren't stupid enough to say out loud. It doesn't make you "temporarily racist".

By km

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Yeah, the popo needs some guidelines to operate by, I agree...but, anyone at this point who doesn't see this for what is,is TOTALLY blinded by something or makes me wonder if ya'll are quilty of behaving that way at some point & are making excuses...Yeah, yeah there are 2 stories sure,but,being under the influence is bringing out the REAL MG..Oh yeah don't give us that bull bout that's his personal life...blah blah blah..
Get the blinders off!!!!

By KramerKramer

It's a pretty messed up world when people go to bat for this piece of human trash known as Mel Gibson. It's got nothing to do with drinking. Repeated violence, racial insults, sexual insults, ethnic insults, all reveal a guy filled with hate.

I don't need Whoopi or anyone else to stand up for Mel Gibson. His mouth has done the talking and that's enough to show the true character of the person. Over almost ten years his true personality has been revealed.

By bren

Hes just mad! Hes not racist. Everybody says things bad when they are mad ,just not everybody makes a tape to play to the world!

By next

Those tapes are from January (6th).. and she's releasing them now?
They're both despicable and deserve each other.

By carneyva

.....and Hitler was not an anti-Semite, right?

By Pd

Whoopi Goldberg only knows her experience with Mel Gibson. Anyone can act decent if they choose for a short period of time. Most likely, Gibson speaks his true beliefs when he is drunk. Alcohol is a truth serum. And on the abuse? My guess is his first wife was abused as well...quietly. Most abused women do not make the papers until it is too late to offer help.

Tuesday 20 July

By Me2

One liberal protecting another. If Mel Gibson were conservative, she would be throwing him under the bus and backing it over him. This isn't the first time Gibson has made racially charged statements. He says those things because they are in him--it's what he believes, and the alcohol makes it easier to say.

By john

Thank you Whoppi for not buying into the hype and for openly stating that "Gibson is not a racist". Defending a friend at and unpopular moment shows conviction and integrity on your part. People say things when they are enraged that they would never normally say otherwise (not a justification). I think that if Gibson heard this recording (I'm sure that he already has), he would feel ashamed and admit that he was out of control. The real question is: what kind of woman would secretly record an ex-love interest during an angry tirade that is so damning and potentially destructive to his career, then leak it (I guarantee that she had a third party leak this) to the press? This was a private telephone conversation that was not meant for the public's ears. Oksana is conspicuously calm because she know she is being recorded. She seems to bait him at times during his rant. Opportunistic and manipulative!!! Ya think???

By blue kline

If you were beaten carrying a child in your hands and if you were threatened to be killed you see things differently. I think she did the best thing she could to protect herself and her child from his madness.

By ddpalmer

Oh he has a black friend so he can't be racist. Well why didn't he tell us this from the beginning.

By Pathos

He's racist but he's not racist racist.

Like Polanski. According to Whoopi, Polanski raped a 13 year old but he didn't rape rape her so we should forgive him.

By alcampd

I don't know Mel Gibson, I understand thru the media that he drinks a lot. My daddy told me once 'A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts'.

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