My Heart Goes Out To Shia LaBeouf, Says Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson has said that his ‘heart goes out’ to Shia LaBeouf, following the young actor’s public meltdown.

Gibson, who was the subject of his own controversy in 2006, which saw him shunned by Hollywood, added that it is ‘easy to judge’ LaBeouf over his recent indiscretions.

LaBeouf was arrested on June 26 for disrupting a performance of ‘Cabaret’ on Broadway, and was charged with criminal trespassing and disruptive behaviour.

[Read more: Shia LaBeouf seeking treatment for alcoholism]

He’s since denied that he’s entering rehab, but admitted that he’s seeking help for alcoholism.

While picking up a lifetime achievement award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Gibson, who has also sought treatment for alcoholism, told Indiewire: “When I see someone like Shia LaBeouf with the bag on his head and stuff, my heart goes out to the poor guy.

“I think he’s suffering in some way.”

Referring to the time LaBeouf took to wearing a paper bag on his head with the slogan ‘I’m Not Famous Anymore’, Gibson added: “’Why (else) would he do that? People are in line to sort of point the finger at him and say that he’s this, that, or the other. It’s easy to judge.

“You’re a target. And you have to be really adept at tap dancing and dodging the bullets. And sometimes you get hit.

"It’s a hard world. You’re under a microscope. The loss of personal anonymity forever is a hard pill to swallow.

"You don’t get an opportunity to put the toothpaste back in the tube. It never goes back in.

“But I’m sure he’s going through some kind of personal, very painful, cathartic thing that he has to exorcise and get out there. And he’ll probably play it out and come back…He’ll be all right. I actually like the kid. I think he’s good.”

Prior to the theatre incident, LaBeouf had found himself in fights and behaving oddly at public events, including a press conference for ‘Nymphomaniac’, during which he quoted Eric Cantona before walking out of the room.

Gibson, meanwhile, is emerging from a lengthy period of ignominy, after his now famous anti-semitic outburst following his arrest for drink-driving in 2006.

He was then further pilloried during his public split from wife Oksana Grigorieva in 2010, during which he was issued a domestic violence-related restraining order.

Gary Oldman recently stood up in defence of Gibson, in his now controversial interview with Playboy last month.

“I don’t know about Mel,” he said. “He got drunk and said a few things, but we’ve all said those things. ‘We’re all f***ing hypocrites. That’s what I think about it.

“Mel Gibson is in a town that’s run by Jews and he said the wrong thing because he’s actually bitten the hand that I guess has fed him - and doesn’t need to feed him anymore because he’s got enough dough. He’s like an outcast, a leper, you know?”

Gibson is set to appear on screens playing the villain in ‘The Expendables 3’, alongside the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s out in the UK on August 14.

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Image credit: PA/WENN