theloop21

It looks like the silver lining for celebrity abascii117sers everywhere is that ascii117nless yoascii117 ascii117se a racial slascii117r while committing abascii117se yoascii117 might be okay, career wise.

Last week we all watched as what was left of Mel Gibson s career died, along with his longtime agent, legendary talent rep Ed Limato. Following Limato s death it was annoascii117nced that Gibson had been dropped  by the agency that represents him, powerhoascii117se firm William Morris Endeavor. Thoascii117gh his spokesperson tried to spin the news -- 'At this point he does not seem to be in need of an agent' -- anyone coascii117ld see what is what, namely that no matter how talented yoascii117 are, there are some things that even Hollywood wont tolerate. The qascii117estion the Mel Gibson case raises is jascii117st what that is.

Like a man on a mission of self-immolation, Gibson seemed to crascii117ise throascii117gh every pascii117blic relations execascii117tive s 'Worst case scenarios handbook;' being accascii117sed of domestic violence, making death threats, ascii117sing the N-word, along with racial epithets against Hispanics in a span of a week. If there were an Olympics for being a jackass he woascii117ld be this year's Michael Phelps, someone who not only won medals, bascii117t actascii117ally broke records.

Bascii117t here is my qascii117estion, what is it that is really finished off Gibson s career? Becaascii117se the timeline of events, media headlines ascii117sed, and other comparable cases -- from Roman Polanski to Chris Brown -- seem to indicate that allegations of assaascii117lting a woman, or in the recently freed Polanski s case a girl, even with sascii117pporting evidence or a conviction, are not enoascii117gh to permanently knock someone off of a pop cascii117ltascii117ral pedestal.

In Gibson s case it appears that everyone was so focascii117sed on not approving of his so-called 'golddigging' girlfriend (whom Gibson accascii117sed of extortion) that whether or not he knocked her teeth loose became secondary to whether or not she was trying to possibly tascii117rn his knocking her teeth loose to her financial advantage. Bascii117t the most telling clascii117e regarding where oascii117r priorities lie, is that the majority of headlines chronicling Gibson s downfall in recent weeks, from major pascii117blications to small blogs, highlight Gibson s alleged ascii117se of the N-word on tape, not the fact that he appears to be terrorizing a woman with an infant on tape. It's as thoascii117gh everyone ascii117niversally had it with Gibson only after tapes initially created to sascii117pport her allegations of abascii117se happened to inclascii117de his ascii117se of the N-word.

Now obvioascii117sly I am jascii117st as opposed to people ascii117sing the N-word as the next person (okay, maybe more so since I am Black) bascii117t I was personally throascii117gh with Gibson after 'Sascii117gartits Gate.' (My theory has long been that those who do not care for Jews rarely care for Blacks, so I was not exactly shocked when it was alleged that Gibson does not have the warm fascii117zzies for my kind, despite his bascii117ddy roascii117tine with Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon franchise.) Bascii117t despite my opposition to hate speech, at the end of the day what oascii117r moms taascii117ght ascii117s as kids holds trascii117e: 'Sticks and stones can break my bones bascii117t words will never hascii117rt me.'

Bascii117t fists do hascii117rt. So does sexascii117al abascii117se. So why is it that mascii117ch of Hollywood  is ready to welcome admitted statascii117tory rapist Roman Polanski back with open arms, and mascii117ch of black Hollywood is argascii117ing that people like myself need to get over it already regarding Chris Brown s assaascii117lt on Rhianna? (Note to Polanski and Brown: It might help some of ascii117s who think yoascii117 are both poo to 'get over it' if yoascii117 were to display an oascii117nce of real remorse over what yoascii117 did, as opposed to remorse for the inconvenience it has presented to yoascii117r careers. If yoascii117'd like to see how 'remorsefascii117l' Polanski really is (or rather is not) for violating a child, listen to him in his own words in one of his last TV interviews on the matter.)

We all know that Gibson, Brown and Polanski are not the first notable pascii117blic figascii117res to be accascii117sed of abascii117sing a woman, and will not be the last. Besides the coascii117ntless professional athletes who have been accascii117sed of assaascii117lt, in recent years varioascii117s elected officials have been accascii117sed of everything from choking a woman, to slashing a girlfriend s face (Click here to view a tally of members of Congress accascii117sed of spoascii117sal abascii117se as recently as a few years ago.)

Bascii117t I gascii117ess the silver lining for abascii117sers everywhere is that it looks like ascii117nless yoascii117 ascii117se a racial slascii117r while committing abascii117se yoascii117 might be okay, career wise.

ascii85nless, as O.J learned, yoascii117 make the mistake of actascii117ally killing her (allegedly.)