Guess Who Just Defended Him?

I don't mean to be that person, but having Mel Gibson defend your actions is like having Justin Bieber say that you take after him. It's not really something you'd brag about, you know? Especially considering the fact that Bieber was just sentenced to probation and anger management in the whole vandalism and egging case. However, there might be a silver lining to this for Shia LaBeouf. The former Disney star was just famously arrested during a Cabaret show and has since been released. So when Mel Gibson spoke out to defend Shia LaBeouf, it's better not to take it as a character reference so much as a word of warning.

LaBeouf was just one of the many subjects that Gibson was covering in his lengthy interview with IndieWire, but it was definitely the most interesting part of the whole thing. "When I see someone like Shia LaBeouf with the bag on his head and stuff, my heart goes out to the poor guy. I think he's suffering in some way," said Gibson. "People are in line to sort of point the finger at him and say that he's this, that, or the other. It's easy to judge. But I'm sure he's going through some kind of personal, very painful, cathartic thing that he has to exorcise and get out there. He'll probably play it out and come back...He'll be all right. I actually like the kid. I think he's good."

This is coming from Mel Gibson a.k.a. the man best known for spewing anti-Semitic comments during a DUI arrest in 2006 and growling death threats at his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva over the phone. It's all right if hearing that he thinks Shia LaBeouf is a good kid suddenly changed your opinion of Shia LaBeouf for the worse. But, when you think about it, Gibson is basically living the story of what happens when you spiral too far out of control.

Gibson might be no victim in his own situation, but drunken public disorderly behavior could be the start of a downward spiral for LaBeouf or it could be the rock bottom that he needed to hit in order to pull himself off the path to growing up to being like Mel Gibson. LaBeouf has already used a homophobic slur and raged at police officers during his arrest, but we generally agree that he was abusing some sort of substance at the time. It's not an excuse, but it would be a justifiable explanation if LaBeouf wanted to take this opportunity to turn his life around.

Do we care what Mel Gibson thinks about Shia LaBeouf? No. Do we need to start making comparisons between LaBeouf and Gibson? No. Should getting a vote of confidence from Mel Gibson be a wake up call for LaBeouf? Maybe. There are a lot of celebrities that you don't want to grow up to be and Mel Gibson is definitely one of them.

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