It’s hard not to look at recent headlines and not be struck by how similar stories can garner such dissimilar reactions from the media.

Radar Online has posted audio purported to be of Mel Gibson in a horrifyingly threatening tirade against Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his eight-month-old daughter. Assuming the tape is authentic (which seems likely), you can can hardly fault the William Morris Agency for dropping him as a client. The lunatic heard is clearly out of control and the public (judging by the poor box office of his latest film) is clearly and justifiably in no mood to support the lifestyle of a man who appears to hate blacks, Jews and women.

As I’ve written before, Gibson deserves our compassion but his behavior should not continue to be rewarded with superstar status. (BTW, Whoopi Goldberg, a friend of Gibson’s, deserves praise for condemning Gibson’s actions while showing mercy for the man. From a personal PR standpoint, It would have been much easier for her to throw him under the bus.)

But, to my point, while severe criticism of Gibson is certainly warranted, it’s interesting to note that Charlie Sheen’s current legal troubles (allegedly involving pulling a knife on his wife) have not, so far as I know, gotten him bounced by his agent. In fact, he’s just gotten a raise from CBS to continue on with his aging (but still popular) sitcom Two and a Half Men.

Now, you may say that this isn’t the first time Gibson has been caught up in controversy and this was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. But neither is this the first report of Sheen allegedly threatening women (i.e. his first wife Denise Richards). 

And, beyond alleged spousal abuse, this isn’t the first controversy involving Sheen. Forgetting about the drugs and the hookers (passé stuff these days), the sitcom star has also, notably, suggested that 9/11 was an inside job.

It seems to me that Mel Gibson, previously applauded by the media for films like the  Braveheart (for which he won an Oscar), first became a controversial figure when he produced and directed The Passion of the Christ. The latter film was accused of being anti-Semitic.

Now, as movies about Jesus go, The Passion of the Christ was not my favorite. It was too violent for my taste and contained relatively little of what Jesus actually said.  Still, I think you can justify a movie focusing on Christ’s suffering of our salvation. It did make me think. And, honestly, I did not personally find the film to be anti-Semitic. Gibson’s 2006 drunken arrest ranting, now that was anti-Semitic.

In any event, it sometimes seems to me that the media’s anti-Semitism alarms are on high alert when comes to conservative Christians but are almost competely turned off when the Anti-Semitism comes from other quarters.

I can’t help but wonder if their previous controversies were reversed — if Mel Gibson espoused 9/11 paranoia and Charlie Sheen made The Passion of the Christ (as unlikely as that might seem) —  whether the media reactions to their current woes would be the same.

To be fair, Gibson’s threats were taped. That could help explain the difference. Also, Two and a Half Men remains a hit and Gibson’s recent film Edge of Darkness bombed.  Money speaks volumes in Hollywood. 

So, I have no way of knowing whether residual media backlash to The Passion of the Christ is still playing out. But I can’t help but wonder.

The bottom line though is that, while Charlie Sheen’s alleged domestic abuse is
indefensible, he deserves our compassion and prayers just as much as
Gibson does. As do, BTW, their alleged victims. I wish all involved healing.