Mel Gibson's statement in full

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August 2, 2006

Mel Gibson's statement in full

Actor and director Mel Gibson has apologised for the anti-Semitic words he used during his arrest for drink-driving. Here is his full statement:

There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark.

I want to apologise specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI (driving under the influence) charge.

I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena.

As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologise directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.

I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable

The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life.

Every human being is God's child, and if I wish to honour my God I have to honour his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.

I'm not just asking for forgiveness.

I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.

I have begun an ongoing programme of recovery and what I am now realising is that I cannot do it alone.

I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.

Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable.

But I pray that that door is not forever closed.

This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic licence. This is about real life and recognising the consequences hurtful words can have.

It's about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad.