Whatever spirit The Passion of the Christ director Mel Gibson has been full of recently chances are it wasn't holy. The Australian megastar's arrest for drink driving early last Friday morning has led to renewed accusations that he harbours anti-Semitic feelings.
The actor yesterday apologised for the "despicable remarks" he made to Los Angeles police officers during the incident, which reportedly included a tirade of anti-semitic and sexist abuse.
The entertainment website, TMZ, has published what it claims to be an extract of the police report on Gibson's arrest.
The report says: "Gibson blurted out a barrage of anti-semitic remarks about 'fucking Jews'. Gibson yelled out: 'The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.' Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?" It also claims the actor called a female officer "sugar tits" - suggesting Mel learnt little from his role in What Women Want.
In a statement, Gibson, who has been treated for alcoholism, apologised for acting "like a person completely out of control" and saying things "that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable".
Whether this will satify those whose hackles were already raised by The Passion of the Christ, remains to be seen. The film, which was accused of anti-semitism for depicting Jews as brutal villains, inspired a South Park spoof in which the big-boned Cartman decides it is an instruction for the Final Solution, dresses up as Hitler and leads a Nazi rally.
Some Hollywood insiders suggest Gibson's reputation may be irrevocably damaged. Questions marks must now hang over the future of his his TV mini-series on the Holocaust. And it surely doesn't help Mel's situation that his elderly father, Hutton, is on record as denying the atrocity happened.
But those predicting the final curtain to fall on Gibson should not underestimate his star power. The $210m he took home from The Passion has freed him from relying on Hollywood studios to distribute his films - and saw him named the most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes magazine in 2004.
The fact is that whatever his misdemeanours, Mel makes money and pots of it. And as long as he continues to do so, his star is unlikely to wane. But he would still be advised to lay off the Bloody Marys and repeat a few Hail Marys.
