DAILY MAIL
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Mel Gibson tried to commit ‘suicide-by-cop’ after his wife walked out, a close friend has said.
The 55-year-old actor was forced to apologise after taunting the officer with anti-Semitic slurs when he was stopped for drink-driving four years ago.
But according to his friend, Gibson’s motivation wasn’t anti-Jewish Ð he was actually trying to goad the man into shooting him.
‘Mel was trying to invite death by cop. I don’t think this was being anti-Semitic,’ the friend said.
The death-by-cop phenomenon, where people deliberately provoke police into using their weapons, has become more common in the U.S.
Gibson wanted to die because he felt like a failure after Robyn, his wife of 26 years, left him, the friend added. The Braveheart actor was said to be distraught when he returned to his Los Angeles home and discovered his wife and seven children had moved out.
Soon after, he was stopped for drink-driving and launched his tirade against the arresting officer. The incident led to the steady decline of Gibson’s Hollywood career and public shaming.
‘He felt that he had just absolutely failed as a human being,’ the friend told Hollywood author Peter Biskind, writing in Vanity Fair magazine.
‘I think he was trying to rile that guy into pulling out a gun and shooting him.’ Gibson had said goodbye to everyone in the restaurant before getting into his car, the friend added. ‘I believe what was going on that night was a farewell.’
Gibson was pulled over near Malibu by officer James Mee, who is Jewish. The arrest report revealed that Gibson asked Mee if he was Jewish. Then he said: ‘F****** Jews ...the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.’
According to Biskind, Gibson had started drinking heavily while directing Apocalypto in Mexico.
His descent into alcoholism was said to be the main reason for the break-up of his marriage.
Gibson apologised for his anti-Jewish rant in TV interviews describing his behaviour as ‘deplorable’.
He was sentenced to three years of probation and entered a rehabilitation programme as well as attending self-help meetings for alcoholics.
His wife later filed for divorce. The actor is now involved in a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva over their 16-month-old daughter Lucia.
Gibson, who has not appeared in a box office hit since 2000, was recorded in a series of rants making racist and sexist comments against her. He was also accused of hitting her and faces being charged with domestic violence.
Gibson claims he is the victim of an extortion plot by his ex-girlfriend after she rejected a £6million offer to end their relationship and share custody of their child.
Copyright 2011 Associated Newspapers Ltd.