Experts: Mel Gibson Apology Too Late

P.R. Gurus Say Delay Raises Questions Of Mel Gibson's Sincerity

(AP)  "I want to apologize to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge," Tuesday's statement said.

Gibson also said he had begun a recovery program and said he planned to meet with Jewish leaders "to discern the appropriate path for healing."

Media image consultant Michael Sands, however, dismissed Gibson's apology as a cynical spin falsely attributing Gibson's anti-Semitism to alcohol.

"By Mel coming out with this latest statement, he is grasping for straws," said Sands. "It seems to me he sat around with his publicist and said, 'Hey, what do you think of this?"'

Veteran publicist Michael Levine, who called Gibson's public relations representatives "the best team money can buy," commended Nierob, who said Tuesday he was the only public relations professional assisting Gibson in the matter.

"Today's statement is particularly wise," Levine said. "The best defense is a good offense and the only offense is a relentless one."

The approach taken by Nierob, a vice president at stalwart publicity firm Rogers & Cowan, takes the "four principles of celebrity crisis" into account, Levine said: speed, humility, contrition and personal responsibility.

"If you go with those four things, you generally do pretty well in America," Levine said.