The Passion of the blah, blah, blah

When 'The Passion of the Christ' was released (as the only snuff film to earn unqualified praise from American fundamentalists), there was plenty of talk about Mel Gibson's kooky father, who apparently has some uncharitable ideas about Judaism. Gibson was quick to distance himself from the stories of Pop's problems with Jewish folks, but there was also a heap of criticism of the movie itself, largely along the lines that it was based not so much upon divinely-inspired religious texts as anti-Jewish propaganda pieces from the Middle Ages. Gibson distanced himself from that as well, although it couldn't protect him from a skewering on South Park that portrayed him as being violently insane.

The recent revelation of Gibson's arrest in Los Angeles for drunk driving, complete with anti-Semitic tirade and alleged COPS-esque attempt to make a break for it aren't going to help. In other news, it still doesn't hurt to be rich and famous when you break the law.

Allegations that police in Malibu tried to cover up an anti-Semitic outburst by Mel Gibson are to be investigated by an independent review body.

The actor and director was stopped for alleged drunk driving early on Friday. A bottle of tequila was reportedly found on the back seat of his car.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that Mr Gibson had been pulled over while speeding at 87mph (140km/h) and arrested “without incident.”

But according to a website, the arresting officer’s original report said: “Gibson blurted out anti-Semitic remarks about ‘f***ing Jews’ [and] yelled out ‘The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,’ then asked: ‘Are you a Jew?’ ” (. . .)

James Mee, the arresting officer, wrote that Mr Gibson’s behaviour was highly emotional from the moment he pulled him over. His report says: “Gibson angrily stated . . . ‘My life is f***ed’ . . . [and] became fixated on his notoriety and the concern that this incident was going to be publicised. In order to calm Gibson’s concerns, I directed [him] to the back seat of the patrol car, telling him that, if he remained co-operative, I would interview him without handcuffing.”

At this point Mr Gibson appears to have attempted to flee.Deputy Mee wrote: “Gibson bolted . . . as he said ‘I’m not going to get in the car’.”