MEL GIBSON REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE TO GAYS

MEL GIBSON REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE TO GAYS
by Rex Wockner
Copyright by Rex Wockner

Actor Mel Gibson, speaking Jan. 21 [1992] on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America,"
refused to apologize to gay men, who he ridiculed late last year in an
interview with the Sunday magazine of Spain's largest newspaper, El País.

"I don't think there's an apology necessary, and I'm certainly not giving one,"
Gibson said. "[Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone
wants my opinion, I'll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?

"The other thing is, it was translated from English to Spanish, back from
Spanish to English, then used by [columnist] Liz Smith [who received the story
from this reporter] out of context in her article," Gibson said. "It's old
news, really old news."

The Spanish-to-English translation was done by this reporter, who speaks
Spanish, and by a professional translator who emigrated from Cuba.

The "Good Morning America" interviewer pressed Gibson, "Are you saying to me
that you did not make any antigay statements at all?"

Gibson responded: "I didn't lie. Put it that way. ... Liz Smith seems to be
violating my right to have an opinion. I have a right to an opinion."

Robert Bray, spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, was livid
at Gibson's new statements.

"And I have a right to respond to Mel Gibson's antigay defamation," Bray said.
"He can kiss my queer ass. He can't defame gays and then try to wiggle out of
it by blaming the translation. And he's not even denying he made the
statements. He's saying he has a right to his opinion.

"Gay fans of Mel Gibson need to throw away their 'Mad Max' tapes and stop going
to his movies until he stops defaming gay people," Bray said.

In the original interview, in the Dec. 1 issue of the El País Sunday magazine,
Gibson was directly asked his opinion of homosexuals. He responded, "They take
it up the ass."

According to El País, he laughed, got up, bent over, pointed to his butt, and
continued, "This is only for taking a shit."

("Que les den por el culo." Gibson se ríe, se levanta, pone el trasero en pompa
y se lo señala. "Esto es sólo para hacer caca.")

The interviewer recalled that Gibson previously had expressed fear people would
think he is gay because he's an actor. He responded: "With this look, who's
going to think I'm gay?

"I don't lend myself to that type of confusion. Do I sound like a homosexual?
Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?"

("¿Quién va a pensar que con esta pinta soy 'gay'? Yo no me presto a ese tipo
de confusiones. ¿Sueno como un homosexual? ¿Hablo como ellos? ¿Me muevo como
ellos?")

Gibson also told El País that he quit the Catholic Church because it has become
too liberal and that, "God is the only one who knows how many children we
should have, and we should be ready to accept that."

("Dios es el único que sabe cuántos hijos debemos tener y debemos estar
dispuestos a que vengan.")

--Translation assistance: Eduardo Aparicio.

[ STORY FILED JANUARY 22, 1992 ]