It’s been almost a week since the 94th Academy Awards, which is to say it’s been almost a week since what may be the most shocking thing to ever happen at the ceremony: Will Smith, on the cusp of winning his first-ever Oscar, slapped Chris Rock for telling a joke then screamed obscenities at him. The fall out has been severe, and it’s permeated much of the culture. Everyone’s talking about it, though not Mel Gibson — though only because his handler cut him off.
The troubled actor and filmmaker, who has a couple Oscars himself (for producing and directing the 1995 Best Picture winner Braveheart), appeared on Fox News, chatting with Jesse Watters about his upcoming Mark Wahlberg movie Father Stu. At one point, Watters decided to ask Gibson — whose temper has in the past materialized in, shall we say, offensive language — on his take on Smith’s Oscar actions.
“I was wondering if you had been the one that jumped up out of his seat and slapped Chris Rock,” Watters asked Gibson, “if you would’ve been treated the same way, Mel.”
Gibson never responded with words, but he did launch into a series of strange faces, laughing nervously, appearing to wave the question away. Meanwhile, his handler cut in. “Hello, Jessie?” she said. “Thank you. That’s our time.”
Watters attempted to get Gibson to answer anyway, but his handler once again cut him off.
Gibson, of course, was all but run out of Hollywood after various scandals, in which he spouted anti-Semitic and racist epithets. Since then he’s struggled to get his career back on track, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Right now, he swears he’s directing the fifth Lethal Weapon.
As for Smith, on Friday night he resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Rock, meanwhile, has seen his ticket sales skyrocket.
(Via Mediaite)