Downey Jr.: It's time to forgive Mel Gibson
Fifteen months ago, we first heard a tape of man who sounded very much like Gibson making vicious threats against his ex-girlfriend. It was the low point of a long downward spiral that included an anti-Semitic rant to police during a 2006 DUI arrest.
On Friday, the Oscar-winner presented the American Cinematheque Award to his friend Robert Downey, Jr., who then told the audience, "Unless you are without sin -- and if you are, you are in the wrong (expletive) industry -- you should forgive him and let him work."
Numerous presenters made reference to Downey's own, well-chronicled troubles -- his long battle with addiction -- and the theme of the night was the remarkable turnaround that revived Downey's career (a teen actor and Oscar nominee in his mid-20s, Downey then fell into drug and alcohol addiction, and eventually landed in jail). But the evening's highlight was when Gibson arrived to present the award.
Gibson's rant and threats directed at ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva were the bottom of his public downward spiral, which included the infamous anti-Semitic rant to police.
Since then, Gibson has been inching back into the public eye. His latest movie, "The Beaver," debuted in May in 36th place at the box office.
Dalton Ross, assistant managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, joined "The Early Show" Monday to talk about Gibson's public rehabilitation. Check out Ross' interview in the video below.