Mel Gibson Will Be Back…Count on It

The real story regarding Mel Gibson has yet to be written. Although reports of new voicemails, text messages and other “evidence” surface daily, there’s no story there. Any person of reasonable common sense already knew that Gibson’s original tirade while being arrested under the suspicion of DUI was likely the rule and not the exception…regarding the racial insults that is.

Mo’Kelly can’t speak on behalf of all African-Americans but Mo’Kelly knew the moment Gibson laid into Jews, he likely had some vitriol also on tap for African-Americans too. That’s just how it works. It’s rare that racial hatred “skips over” African-Americans. Be it Neo-Nazis, skinheads, or the KKK…it’s usually a package deal. It’s never an “either/or” proposition, but “both/and.”

Digression…

So know then, for those of you out there who like to tell jokes or make disparaging remarks about Jews in Mo’Kelly’s presence, it says volumes about what you say to Jews about African-Americans in our absence.

End digression…

If we check the scoreboard, Mel Gibson isn’t real fond of Jews, African-Americans and by most accounts a misogynist. There’s even supposed to be some “evidence” of him slandering Latinos and Asians. If Gibson is anything, he is “fair” and equitable in his miscreant behavior. Let’s at least give him that. Going further, depending on whom you believe in his wide and varied dating history, he’s also physically abusive.

Did we miss anything?  Did we manage to cover all the shortcomings and iniquity better known as Mel Gibson?  We should be able to agree that Gibson has tremendous emotional issues wrapped in a cocoon of inebriation…which makes him little different than the majority of Hollywood. If we checked the multitude of Hollywood stars’ personal lives, Mel Gibson probably has all sorts of company.

Again, that’s not the story. What the mainstream media and the blogosphere have largely ignored or declined to discuss is what happens when Mel Gibson turns up in his next movie. Not the “if”…but the “when.” It may not be in the immediate future but he will likely grace the silver screen again.

Hollywood has a verifiable history of shunned stars making a comeback. The negative controversy alone of casting Mel Gibson in any movie between now and the end of his natural life could…no, would propel it.

This isn’t Michael Richards.

Somebody in Hollywood will eventually give Gibson another chance. It would not be his second chance, it would be his third officially…for those keeping score at home. The discussion also needed to be had, is whether an actor can go “too far.” Gibson doesn’t have a “right” to work in Hollywood and movie studios aren’t bound to do that which is considered politically correct at any given moment in America. Historically, Hollywood has loved being politically incorrect. Remember it was Hollywood which featured interracial and gay relationships and “Black presidents” long before the Bible Belt and the rest of mainstream America were ready to accept any of the aforementioned..

Let’s also remember, there’s a rather recent example of how recorded messages/conversations and N-words don’t necessarily derail a career, as evidenced by Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Mel Gibson will eventually make it back. Maybe not all the way back, but back to the screen at the very minimum. No, Mo’Kelly isn’t rooting for him, just acknowledging the obvious.

For example, if HBO is willing to deal with the hate mail it likely receives from conservatives across the country after featuring two men kissing on the show True Blood in 2010, Hollywood would likely stomach and survive an eventual Mel Gibson return.

It’s what makes Hollywood, “Hollywood.” Hollywood is a mixed drink of two parts “unbelievable,” one part “unpredictable.”

Get used to the idea now, because it’s surely going to happen. If Flava Flav can manage to star in not one but TWO reality dating shows, Mel Gibson can star in a movie post this “scandal.” Kim Kardashian became famous largely because of videotaping sex with unfamous Ray-J and little else. If Kim Kardashian can make someone believe in her, surely Mel Gibson can make somebody with enough influence believe in him.

Mo’Kelly isn’t silently rooting for him, but Mo’Kelly surely is a realist. And when Gibson does return, then begin the chants of racism in Hollywood, disparate treatment for White and Black stars after running afoul.

There’s some truth to it.

From Robert Downey, to Rob Lowe on down, you can run the list. Alec Baldwin knows a thing or two about supposed misogyny and voicemail messages.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgj6NEk9xEw]

Russell Crowe wasn’t exactly “caught on tape” but he’s had some “phone” trouble in the form of an alleged assault.  Yes, throwing a hotel phone at one

of its employees does rise to the level of assault.  One could successfully argue that throwing a phone at someone is far worse than leaving nasty voicemails.

Longtime star James Caan has had plenty of “incidents,” including the mysterious death of an actor who “fell” from a fire escape (allegedly while Caan slept) and an arrest for allegedly beating up a woman. There have been more than just a few examples of White stars being judged purely on the strength of their art and

not their personal issues after their arrests. Contrasted against the struggles of Isaiah Washington, formerly of Grey’s Anatomy it’s worth mentioning. Contrasted against the tragic story of the late Harold Rollins (In the Heat of the Night) it’s worth mentioning.

Of course nobody believes Hollywood is fair. It’s the definition of unfair. Yet, there is a reasonable discussion to be had as to whether Hollywood is more tolerant of traditional racism and misogyny than homophobia. It’s reasonable to wonder whether White stars are shown more forgiveness than others, irrespective of transgression. Mel Gibson will be in somebody’s movie or on somebody’s reality TV show eventually and the discussion should start now as to whether it matters.

Back to racism vs. homophobia…

Yes, there those who will argue vehemently that Hollywood is more tolerant of traditional racists than homophobia. Maybe, maybe not. Eddie Murphy’s return to stardom after his troubles with a transvestite prostitute in 1997 (given his homophobic comedic bits) is for many African-Americans the exception which proves the rule and for others, proof of the colorblind nature of money-obsessed studios. And then there’s the aforementioned Isaiah Washington…the knife has cut both ways.

If there are any immortal sins in Hollywood, child-related offenses would probably be it, right?

Or are they?

Paul Reubens, A.K.A Pee-wee Herman’s multiple run-ins with the law, including possession of child pornography probably draws the line in the sand. Although the charges for possession of child pornography were later dropped, his career has since largely comprised of cameos and continuous struggles to revive the Pee-wee brand.

But then again, having sex with a 13-year old didn’t prevent filmmaker Roman Polanski from either making movies (abroad) or winning Academy Awards domestically.

As there are few African-American power brokers we shouldn’t be surprised that African-American actors likely have less room to successfully maneuver through PR disasters. By the same token, we shouldn’t be surprised either when…yes, when Mel Gibson returns to the big screen. It won’t be today, tomorrow or any time in the immediate future. Just know that it’s coming. Accept it now.

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