In an interview airing on Friday’s Good Morning America, Mel Gibson spoke out for the first time after being arrested for drunk driving.
The actor-director, who has struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse in the past, was pulled over shortly after 2 a.m. on July 28 in Malibu, Calif., for speeding. He proceeded to unleash an anti-Semitic tirade during and following his arrest.
After providing us with some classic Mel Gibson pictures, the actor later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent and was sentenced to three years probation.
Gibson talked to ABC News’ Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview that his inflammatory statements were “just the stupid ramblings of a drunkard.”
What else does he say? Here’s a quick preview:
On what’s next:
“What I need to do to heal myself and to be assuring and allay the fears of others and to heal them if they had any heart wounds from something I may have said. So, this is the last thing I want to be is that kind of monster.”
On people in Hollywood refusing to work with him after his anti-Semitic comments:
“I feel sad because they’ve obviously been hurt and frightened and offended enough to feel that they have to do that. It’s their choice, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”
On his plan to continue making movies:
“I’ll always continue to work. I’ve never much depended on anyone but myself, as far as that goes. And, hey, I’m not under the illusion that everything’s just going to be hunky-dory work wise forever. I’ve never been under that illusion. Things could go away tomorrow.”
On not having had a drink in 65 days:
“No, nothing. It’s… it’s poison.”
On sobriety being a constant struggle:
“A couple of times, you know, it was like oh, man, the hell with it, you know. But you don’t, because I have friends and people that care and, you know, you’ll fortunately be at the right place at the right time to, you know, reach out and … And many people have reached out. My goodness. I mean it’s … I’ve been overwhelmed.”
On starting to drink again a few months before his July arrest:
“Years go by, you’re fine. And then all of a sudden in a heartbeat, in an instant, on an impulse, somebody shoves a glass of Mescal in front of your nose, and says, ‘It’s from Oaxaca.’ And it’s burning its way through your esophagus, and you go, ‘Oh, man, what did I do that for? I can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.'”