Mel Gibson In An Altercation? He Says It Didn’t Happen


The idea that Mel Gibson was in an altercation with a pushy paparazzo doesn’t really seem too far fetched. The iconic megastar is no stranger to tirades, inexplicable anger, and semi-public rants. Mel’s history of sometimes bizarre behavior does lend some credence to the claims of assault levied by Kristi Miller, a photographer for the Australian version of Daily Telegraph.

ET is reporting that Miller is making some very serious allegations of abuse against the Braveheart star. She claims that she only took a photograph of Gibson, 59, and his 24-year-old reported girlfriend Rosalind Ross outside of a movie theater in Sydney last Sunday. That’s when she claims things quickly turned violent.

“I took a photo of Mel and his girlfriend and when I turned around he shoved my back really hard… It shocked me because I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t know if it was his hands or elbow.”

While Miller is standing behind her accusations, Mel Gibson and his representative vehemently deny her version of events.

“There was never any physical contact whatsoever and the story being told by her is a complete fabrication of the truth.”

According to Gibson and his people, what actually did go down was a different story entirely, and it was far from an altercation. They are reporting that the “altercation” in question amounted to nothing more than an over-eager act of paparazzi-related harassment. Mel Gibson himself recounted being harassed and bothered, and repeatedly asking Miller to back off and leave them alone, which she refused to do.

Local police did become involved in the skirmish, and according the BBC, their report suggests that things certainly may have gotten physical.

“About 6.20 last night a man became involved in an altercation with a photographer outside a cinema on Oxford Street Paddington and allegedly pushed the female photographer.”

Neither side is backing down from their claims that theirs is the true version of events, but Gibson might have a difficult time convincing the world that he was being harassed and managed to avoid an altercation. It’s hard to picture him being dogged by a relentless reporter and never losing his cool. Especially with Gibson’s track record of losing his snapping under presser somewhat frequently. It’s highly probable that the true truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two renditions of events, as it so often does.

For Miller’s part, from all accounts her story has remained consistent.

I mean, what reason could she possibly have to make up something as headline-grabbing as an altercation with Mel Gibson?

If you ask the good folks over on Team Mel, they’ll tell you she’s exaggerating a much less serious encounter, puffing it up into an altercation to get her 15 minutes of fame. If that’s the plan, it’s definitely worked like a charm. Gibson is a pretty easy target, and her description of events fits the mold of things he’s been busted doing before. Arguably, the fact that he’s exhibited similar behavior in the past certainly doesn’t mean that this altercation went down the way Miller describes.

The jury’s still out on how this latest Mel Gibson altercation actually went down, and the masses are divided on who they believe. Some people are even of the persuasion that if Gibson did into an altercation with this female photog and it did happen exactly as she describes, it was all her fault.

People don’t have much sympathy for privacy invading, pushy members of the paparazzi. By all accounts, she was definitely doing some hounding and the Mel Gibson altercation was ultimately the result of some unwanted attention.

That being said, I’m sure we can all agree that even being vastly annoyed is no justification for physical violence. If Gibson put his hands on this woman in some kind of altercation, he was 100 percent in the wrong.

We may never know what really happened with Gibson in this altercation outside of a Sydney theater. Unless someone caught it on tape, it’s doubtful either side is going to give an inch. Whatever the details, this incident is going to be forever known as one more Mel Gibson altercation that got as much press as one of his films.

[Image Courtesy Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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