Leaked 2010 recordings with racist and abusive language, and the Oksana Grigorieva battery case
In July 2010, recordings that RadarOnline said captured Mel Gibson berating his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, including racial slurs and abusive language, were posted online. His agency WME said he was no longer a client and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reviewed the tapes in a domestic violence inquiry. In 2011 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery while maintaining his in
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- WME drops Gibson as leaked recordings with racial slurs surface - The Los Angeles Times reported that a William Morris Endeavor spokesman confirmed Gibson was no longer a client, as RadarOnline posted a profanity-laced rant it attributed to him in which racial epithets were used toward Grigorieva. Deadline reported the agency had parted ways with him on July 2, after reports of a tape containing a racial slur. TheWrap quoted a WME spokesperson saying 'Mel is no longer a client'. William Morris Endeavor dumps Mel Gibson
- Sheriff's department says it will review the recordings in an abuse inquiry - BBC News reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said officers were evaluating claims that Gibson hit Grigorieva and would 'review' the recordings. The BBC said that in one recording Grigorieva accuses the man of 'hitting a woman when she's holding a child in her hands' and he replies that she 'deserved it'. A Gibson spokesman declined to comment. The pair were then fighting over custody of their eight-month-old daughter. Police to 'review' allegation Mel Gibson abused his ex
- No contest plea to misdemeanor battery and three years' probation - The Los Angeles Times and CBS News reported that Gibson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery of his former girlfriend, who said he punched her during a January 6, 2010 altercation at his Malibu home. A judge sentenced him to three years' probation and a year of domestic violence counselling, and ordered him to stay away from Grigorieva. His lawyer said he admitted no wrongdoing. Prosecutors said the same day that Grigorieva would not be charged with attempted extortion. Mel Gibson pleads no contest in domestic abuse
- Gibson says the tapes were edited and were 'one terribly awful moment' - In his first long interview after the leaks, Gibson told Deadline he had never treated anyone in a discriminatory way based on gender, race, religion or sexuality and that the leaked tapes 'have been edited'. He said the remarks came 'at the height of a breakdown' while trying to leave 'a really unhealthy relationship' and were 'one terribly, awful moment in time' that did not represent what he believed. He said his plea let him maintain his innocence and that he took it for his children's sake. EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson Finally Talks
- Custody settlement bars both sides from releasing recordings - The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press reported that under a settlement detailed in court, Gibson would pay Grigorieva $750,000, keep paying for a house for her and their daughter, and share custody. The AP said Grigorieva could no longer pursue a civil case against him, and the judge ordered both sides not to speak or write about their relationship or the domestic abuse allegations and not to release any audio recordings. Mel Gibson settlement: Oksana gets $750,000, not $15 million