Mel Gibson can't give ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva a rest. In a shocking nine-page letter screenwriter Joe Eszterhas wrote to the star, Gibson is accused of (among other things, like being a raging anti-Semite) making some seriously scary-sounding threats to kill the Russian-born Grigorieva, with whom he shares a two-year-old daughter, Lucia.
(Full context: Eszterhas, whose credits include "Flashdance," "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls," was canned from Gibson's controversial film project about Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee in February. He then lashed out at the actor in this memo, obtained by The Wrap.)
Here are a few excerpts (warning: language may be offensive):
"You were raving at Oksana even after you'd reached a custody agreement over Luci... And then you were even more explicit about your threat: 'I'm going to kill her! I'm going to have her killed!' You said you'd become friends with two FBI agents (or former FBI agents) and they were going to help you kill her."
"You kept raging about your ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, Luci's mother, whom you always referred to as 'that cunt' and 'that fucking bitch.' You acted out for me the scene where you hit her. But you said you'd 'just slapped her a little bit.' After you slapped her, you said, she grabbed Luci and went running 'hysterically' down the hillside behind your house in the pitch dark."
“’I want that cunt gone!’ you screamed. ‘Gone! Gone! Gone! I will not share Luci with her!’ And: ‘I’m going to get rid of her. No one will ever know! I’m not going to live this way the rest of my life! She’s poisoning Luci against me! She is evil! They worship the devil where she came from. She’s going to disappear! Gone!’”
Gibson responded to Estzerhas's letter by apologizing to the screenwriter for "react[ing] more strongly than I should have" over an unfinished script. But he predictably rejected Estzerhas's other accusations, saying to Deadline: "I am not going to respond to it line by line, but I will say that the great majority of the facts as well as the statements and actions attributed to me in your letter are utter fabrications."
This isn't the first time Gibson has allegedly made sexist and abusive remarks against his former flame. Gibson and Grigorieva split in April 2010 and were involved in a bitter custody dispute involving allegations that Gibson abused her and even knocked out her teeth. In June the same year, audio tapes of Gibson's explosive and racially charged rants to Grigorieva on the telephone were leaked to the press.
"You're an embarrassment to me. You look like a fucking pig in heat and if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault," Gibson said. "I am going to come and burn the fucking house down... but you will blow me first."
Still, in May 2011, Grigorieva dropped claims of domestic abuse against Gibson. Gibson also reached a settlement with Grigorieva in August the same year, in which "The Beaver" actor agreed to pay $750,000 and split legal custody of their daughter. Gibson, 56, has seven other children.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
