Mel Gibson Feels Sorry for Himself, I Mean, Tiger Woods
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 5:14 PM EST
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PrintMel Gibson is out with a new movie in which he plays a Boston cop. (Watch out, Valkyrie, you may lose your spot atop the list of "movies starring the worst possible guy to perform the accent needed for the role.") As part of the press junket, he talked with the Daily Mail about a variety of subjects, including - of course - Tiger Woods.
'I feel sorry for Tiger Woods,' he says. 'Why are we talking about this when we're sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan? You've got this history-changing event going on and we're talking about Tiger's private life and golf injuries. He's being used as a diversion and it just drives me crazy. You come out savaged. I just think, 'Who cares?'
Let's play Mad Libs with Mel Gibson's quotes. Replace "Tiger Woods" with "myself," replace Afghanistan with Iraq, "he" and "you" with "I" and there you have Gibson's honest reaction to his 2006 Malibu traffic arrest in which he said "the Jews are responsible for all the wars." Including the one in Afghanistan, Mel?
That just does not make sense to me. By the same token, no one should care about his new film, putt-putt golf, sunshine, lollipops, or snowfall until the whole war in Afghanistan is resolved. Obviously, that's not the case. Yes, Woods* is clearly a diversion for a lot of people, but not a diversion in the sense that our society cannot multitask and handle the critical issue of our troop deployment in a foreign nation where 90% of the geography is not controlled by the central government.
It infuriates me when public figures and celebrities talk this way. It upsets me even further that later in the piece, Gibson is quoted as saying, "[Politics] is a brutal world to get into. It's like jumping into the lawnmower blades."
Then why did you just jump into it by talking about politics and war?
This is precisely why I am pretty happy that golfers are bland. While most would privately tell you - and annually do in surveys - that they lean hard to the political right, they don't make hypocritical statements like this in public.
And to think I actually went to see Passion of the Christ.
[H/T Devil Ball Golf for the ammo]
*For the record, I would write this post exactly same way were it any golfer or athlete or public figure.
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ok – the “being used as a diversion” line aside and all (he DID do “Conspiracy Theory” remember) – he makes a very good point. Where are our priorities ? What does all of this tabloid nonsense say about our society when we pay less attention to ferriting out whacked out terrorists and more to a golfer’s private life ?
Of course – there have been a few of us on here making that point since…ummm…just after Thanksgiving ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
He raises a good point that shouldn’t be lost on us, but that’s not specific to this situation. As a culture, we focus on the things that are easy to make fun of and don’t require us to think too deep.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
so now you’re changing directions from the original post ? You got all over him for making his point because he’s a celebrity.
He sounds a bit whacky with the words he chose…but his point is very valid.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Not changing directions at all. His hypocrisy is still there.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
Also,
The alarming thing about the Tiger Woods “story”, is the latitude which has been given to rag mags, and internet blurbs as legitimate news sources. Long after this story has died, TMZ, Star, and the Enquirer will enjoy greater readerships, and viewerships. Because of over the top made up news (used loosely), and sensationalized garbage. This is very alarming to me, as it tilts the media accounts in our country deeper into tabloid hell. The prettying up of the evening news, the wholesale slashing of the Newspaper industry, and the unwarranted credibility given to non-media sources is alarming to me. The younger generation (sorry Ryan) believes a lot of what they read on the ‘net. Doesn’t have to be true, and they don’t have the time, or where with all to investigate. I saw it so i believe it. This is alarming indeed. We should be careful in who we give a media credential to, or credence to as a society. Really.
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 11, 2010 7:03 PM EST up reply actions
You’ll eventually learn how skeptical I am :)
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 7:18 PM EST up reply actions
That’s not hypocrisy. One is escaping for a couple of hours – the other is a consistent thought pattern that leads to intruding into someone’s life.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
That’s how you see it, though. For the millions of Americans that watch ET, Extra, et al every night, they would vehemently disagree. (I don’t agree with them.)
It’s still hypocrisy for a man who faced a lot of public scrutiny for his beliefs and behavior to say that we should leave another public figure alone for his.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 10:07 PM EST up reply actions
You’ll have to explain that one. How is it “hyporcrisy” for one celebrity to say that another celebrity should be allowed to have his privacy respected for a personal matter ?
Here’s the flaw in the first part (recognizing that you don’t agree with the ET minions) – this isn’t a democracy. It doesn’t matter how many people “demand” to know what’s going on in Tiger Woods’ private life, it is still HIS private life and those mirmadons aren’t entitled to any part of it unless he gives it to them.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
ummm... Ryan???
You do know Gibson is an extreme right-wing nut case, right? So golfers and Mel are on the same page politically.
I love being a commie, pinko, socialist (according to CG).
Truth has a well-known liberal bias.
There’s a difference between mainstream conservatism and “extreme right-wing nutcases” despite the howling from the Sean Hannity’s and Rush Limbaughs of the world.
by Charles Boyer on Jan 12, 2010 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
Gibson Does Make Good Points
Here in America, we love to focus on the foibles of our heros. It’s almost like a cycle – create, then destroy, then create anew. It’s not particularly entertaining, nor is it at all productive.
There are many things we should devote our collective focus to, for example, the sorry state of financial affairs in our government, something that we’ve ignored for nearly forty years. Or we could focus on our safety and security, and collectively devise meaningful ways to make all of us safer.
But no, instead, let’s see who’s in between the sheets with who, or who has stumbled outside of their aura of perfection. Or whatever Tila Tequila or Jon Gosslin is up to…that’s really important.
Right. History will not be kind to our society, be sure of it.
OMP, I’m not entirely certain that this is reserved for American society. In fact, I think it’s something that we largely inherited from European society. Now it’s kind of an accepted part of life there. That doesn’t make it right, but we may be evolving (devolving?) in that direction.
I completely agree that there are way better things to be the focus of our collective dialogue. I don’t think that should be coming from a hypocritical celebrity promoting his film about fictional violence, but the point is valid.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 6:49 PM EST up reply actions
OMP, I rate you a birdie.....
On this one, as a society we are fascinated by the wrong things. Reality this, gossip that. It’s all nonsense, and tomfoolery. There are greater ills to focus on, and these diversions, dim or collective focus. I echo your last sentence. For sure.
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 11, 2010 6:52 PM EST up reply actions
It's just as Scott Fitz said:
“Show me a hero, and I’ll write you a tragedy.”
"...it is well to remember that to miss a putt is not a criminal offense and does not prevent a man from being an excellent husband, father, and citizen." - Bernard Darwin
Heh.
And to think I actually went to see Passion of the Christ.
When that movie was released, an excited coworker asked if I was going to see it.
I replied “Nah, I read the book.”
"...it is well to remember that to miss a putt is not a criminal offense and does not prevent a man from being an excellent husband, father, and citizen." - Bernard Darwin
turnover,
I’ve read the book also and the movie is better at depicting the actual pain and suffering that Christ endured for us. May I suggest you view the movie on either Holy Thursday after the Last Supper, or Good Friday before 3PM?
ps. kind of anticlimatic after Colt got knocked out of the game!
I guess it’s up to each of us to believe what we want to believe, and Ryan is entitled to write about whatever he wants, but I would suggest reading the entire article to get the quotes and backstory in context. (disclaimer, just because I’m female doesn’t mean I’m all crazy about Mel Gibson, in fact, I haven’t really followed his career closely).
I don’t get the feeling that Gibson feels sorry for himself at all – several times in the article he talks about taking responsiblity for his decisions and mistakes over the years. I also think that based on all of the conversations here about Tiger and the pointlessness of how much we’ve been “interested” in his story – why would we bash Gibson for saying the same thing? He never once implied in this article that “I know exactly how you feel, TW”. But he sure can.
And as far as his “politics” quote…we don’t know the question he was asked that drew out his response – but right before it, it says he is wary of getting “overly involved” in politics…which would imply to me that it meant more of a career in politics rather an interest in it.
I’m sorry I’ve missed all of the hypocriscy.
I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.
My feeling is that Mel Gibson is a very public figure who faced an immense amount of scrutiny for his public behavior. At the time, he reacted to it poorly. Tiger Woods is in the same situation. Mel certainly would have preferred to have been left alone, but he earned that criticism for what he said. So for him to say that Tiger should be left alone just because we are fighting a war on two fronts seems all too convenient and hypocritical.
I feel the same about the likes of Shaq, as well.
I always welcome disagreement because that means we get into a decent debate.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 10:11 PM EST up reply actions
Really?
I don’t recall Gibson reacting quite so poorly. He came out and faced the music and met with Jewish groups and pledged to be better and yada yada yada. Consequently, his situation diffused fairly quickly. Certainly he caught flak, but it’s not like he hid from the issue like Tiger Woods. Heck, Tiger isn’t just evading the issue, he’s literally in hiding.
by Double Eagle on Jan 11, 2010 10:57 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I'm trying to follow...
but I’m having trouble. The foundation of your argument is lost on me – Gibson made mistakes, he handled the situation poorly at the time, and since has taken responsibility for his poor behavior. Of course he would prefer to not to have had been under a microscope back then, but to him, it’s over. His reference to Tiger is a statement on his view of society’s perceived lack of priorities when it comes to issues that gain our attention…I don’t see how it has anything to do with him now…or what happened back then…or how it makes him a hypocrite (I actually looked up hypocrite to make sure I understood and I still don’t get it)
Gibson did not say Tiger should be left alone “just because” we are fighting a war…he questions why something like TW’s antics would cause the discussion of war to take the proverbial back seat. A question we ALL have asked in some way or another (maybe not a specific war reference). Not once in that article did he complain about how he was treated or act like he was a victim – on the contrary, he admitted he made mistakes…I find that refreshing, not hypocritical. If he had been saying “poor me, I’m just like Tiger”, well, maybe I could see the diversion in talking about criticism of the public’s priorities, but he didn’t.
I’m trying to get it – and I appreciate good discussions, too…but so far, we are on 2 different pages.
I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.
I think that Gibson is completely off base in saying that Woods is causing the Afghan war to take a backseat here. For one, I don’t feel that it has taken a backseat to the Woods sideshow. Second, I think that doesn’t take into account that much of our society would prefer to follow celebrity marriage fallout than a crucial policy debate.
In the rest of the article, Gibson comes across as fairly charming.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
For one, I don’t feel that it has taken a backseat to the Woods sideshow.
Really? In those first few weeks do you think there was another story that received as much attention as Tiger Woods? I cannot tell you how many non-golf friends of mine called or emailed wanting to talk about Tiger – and I stopped counting how many “beat up Tiger” email pics I received. The world you live in must be totally different than mine…I would say all the way up until Christmas the number 1 topic in general “news” (and I use that term loosely) was TW.
Second, I think that doesn’t take into account that much of our society would prefer to follow celebrity marriage fallout than a crucial policy debate.
Wait…what? Isn’t that exactly what Gibson was trying to say?? Gibson was asking – WHY are we talking about TW when we are sending troops into battle? Leave the guy alone and let’s talk about other things, isn’t that his point? …IMHO, Gibson is making a statement about OUR (society’s) priorities and it has nothing to do with how he personally feels about TW or the similarities in their public exposure.
You thoughts aren’t lost on me as much now, but I feel like your responses now have strayed away from your original points in your post…where I completely disagree that the article portrayed Gibson as feeling sorry for himself (I think it’s actually the opposite – he took ownership of past mistakes), and that Gibson is a hypocrite…I can’t see it at all.
I think we’re making progress here – Frasier Crane would be proud. :-)
I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.
Red.....good points!
I’ve stayed away from this article because I wasn’t sure at what point Ryan and Court were going to pull out guns. I my initial feeling of the article was, as you said…..
‘WHY are we talking about TW when we are sending troops into battle’? There have been a lot of questions as to the mentality of our society concerning the incredible response to Tiger. I think we all, whether consciously or sub-consciously, tend to take the “We built you up, so we can tear you down” philosophy. Is it right or wrong???….it doesn’t matter, it’s just the way it is and always will be.
Saints are killing me!!!!!!!!
Here's why Tiger gets so much press
Professional golf and it’s main characters are entertainers and entertainment is a diversion from reality. The sad reality is we are involved in a war that will not have a winner or loser. It will end with some kind of political appeasement. The best way for an emerging country to grow is to get into a war with the U.S. Worked for Japan and Viet Nam…. In 10 years we’ll be seeing Nike’s made in Kabul…. For a few hours, either playing or watching I can put the crap I hear on the news aside and only agonize over what a lousy putter I am….
by pingforever on Jan 12, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions
I agree that there is part of society that does engage in the “tear down” mentality of celebrities and public figures…but in Tiger’s case, and at least in my own reaction, I think the immense discussion was partly due to the shock that he did what he did – so many of us were completely blindsided (I refrain from using the word duped)…and even now, there is still a part of me that would really like to hear Tiger’s story of how he got to this point. Should I care? No. Am I still curious? Yes.
The whole thing is outrageous, really. But I find nothing wrong with Gibson saying, “enough already, let’s talk about issues that could really impact us.”
I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.
And here’s something that just dawned on me: WHO is using Tiger Woods as a diversion from the topic of the Afghan war?!
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 11, 2010 11:49 PM EST reply actions
Ryan,
What I was trying to convey is we use “sports” as a diversion, not that we’re specifically using the Woods Saga as a diversion.
By the way, TMZ is reporting that Elin has been renting a $2 million home near Tiger’s house in Windermere since about mid-December while she decides what to do about her marriage
actual proof?
When did that become a requirement for publication?
"TMZ is reporting"
This is what scares me……..“According to the National Enquirer”…….I shudder……“Sources at Star”………..etc………First of all, when did anyone begin receiving “reports” from TMZ, or any of these rags, and taking them at face value? I mean really, are we going down that dark and winding road here. Please quote credible news sources, and don’t belittle us by quoting TMZ. That’s not news it’s gossip, and made up gossip at that. TMZ is reporting……..That’s an oxymoron…….all nibs lacks is the Oxy.
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 12, 2010 7:47 PM EST reply actions
you know – there IS always the point of view of the Men In Black…
[after telling Jay that they’re going to check the “hot sheets,” Kay pulls up to a newsstand and buys a pile of supermarket tabloids]
Jay: These are the hot sheets?
Kay: Best investigative reporting on the planet. But go ahead, read the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
For all you TMZ haters, Harvey Levin, the founder and leader of TMZ, was on the O’Reilly show last night giving his opinion(speculation) on the TW saga. Of course O’Reilly was on one of those shows(Inside Edition) for years
ps to F&G: there is no way I could belittle you..talk about oxymorons!
You are correct.
Someone of your “class” and “taste” could never belittle me. You are Oh never mind. Keep posting. You represent the wonderful world of nothing. TMZ……..O’Reilly. Oh Really…..Please. How’s his moral compass these days? When did Lost Vegas become the haven for good reporting and moral justice anyway? Hey do us a favor….Go back to the phrase that best describes Vegas. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” when you are ready to report your nonsense….just keep it in Vegas. Please.
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 15, 2010 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
Easing......
Have you seen the new Sherlock Holmes movie? if so..your thoughts. It was entertaining to me, But i wonder how it was for a Brit. As for Nibs, well the guy is a bit of an Arse. But i fought for his right to express himself, as did he i think, so it’s welcome, if not appreciated. NLAA (not laughing at all).
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 12, 2010 8:21 PM EST reply actions
did you see who they’re planning on having as Prof Moriarity in the next movie ?
oh – don’t want to give anything away – but the joke at the end was pretty funny, but I had to explain it to my dad.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
My son saw it..
and said it was great. I am going to see it, we are fans of Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man so I’ll let you know when I’ve seen it.
Thanks, I'm a huge fan of his also.
Look forward to your comments.
"The game is swell when it's played well."
by Fairways and Grins on Jan 12, 2010 8:40 PM EST reply actions
As far as I remember
he didn’t ! I collected quite a few Marvel editions ( sadly I sold them when I returned to the UK)…my sons often ask me if the films happened like the comics, lol.
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