Antisemitic remarks are enough to tarnish a person’s career, but when domestic violence gets thrown into the mix, reputations are transformed forever. Around the time of his separation from Robyn Moore, Mel Gibson went public with his relationship with Russian songwriter Oksana Grigorieva in 2009. The couple very soon after welcomed a daughter, Lucia Gibson, on October 31, 2009. As quickly as the pair’s relationship took off, it crashed and burned in front of the public eye.
On June 25, 2010, Grigorieva filed a restraining order against Gibson following an altercation in which Grigorieva alleges that Gibson punched her repeatedly, broke a tooth, and gave her a concussion. After the fight and in the midst of their separation, Grigorieva secretly recorded a number of phone calls from Gibson that included threatening language, derogatory comments, and racist slurs, all directed at Grigorieva from Gibson (you can read the transcript of the call on Salon).
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Gibson offered Grigorieva $15 million to keep the tapes private, but she ultimately refused the deal. As far as a defense goes, the “Braveheart” actor admitted to slapping Grigorieva, but only to “bring her back to reality” during a meltdown and prevent her from harming their young child. After a bitter custody battle, the two eventually settled in 2011, and Gibson agreed to pay Grigorieva $750,000, under the condition that she could not write or speak about their relationship (though she later did).
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
