Jodie Foster isn’t giving up on Mel Gibson, said Sheila Weller in More. Foster, 47, has been close to her fellow actor for 16 years, since they worked together on a film. “The second I met him,” says Foster, “I said, ‘I will love this man for the rest of my life.’ He’s the easiest, nicest person I’ve ever worked with.” But in recent years, Gibson has alienated nearly everyone in Hollywood with a series of scandals, including an anti-Semitic outburst following a 2006 drunken-driving arrest, and the audiotaped stream of profanity, racism, and threats he made while breaking up with Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva.
Through it all, Foster has consoled and counseled him. “Mel has been a true and loyal friend,” Foster says. “When you love a friend, you don’t abandon them when they are struggling.” Before the Grigorieva disaster, Foster cast Gibson in a film she directed—which, ironically, is about “how close we all come to mental illness and what you have to give up in order to save yourself.” That movie may never be released, because Gibson is now seen as box-office poison. But Foster’s loyalty to him remains intact. “I hope I can get him through this dark moment.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Experts are split on the findings in RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' reportIn the Spotlight The HHS secretary's report targeted processed foods and vaccines, among other things
-
Jony Ive changed the world with the iPhone. Can he do it again with OpenAI?Talking Points Ive is joining OpenAI, hoping to create another transformative piece of personal technology. Can lightning strike twice?
-
Elon Musk says he's 'done enough' political spending. What does that really mean?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The world's richest man predicted he'd do 'a lot less' electoral financing moving forward. Has Washington seen the last of the tech titan?
