Celebrities Take Sides Over Mel Gibson’s Outburst

After Mel Gibson was charged this week with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol and acknowledged making anti-Semitic slurs during the arrest, more and more Hollywood stars are making their feelings known too.

Mel?s friend Patrick Swayze let his feelings out on British TV, saying:

?He’s a wonderful human being,? Swayze said. ?He is not anti-Semitic.?

But Patrick, who, like Mel, also has battled alcohol, blasts those who say this could end Mel?s career.

?If anyone dares try to pull this crap of messing with Mel’s career, it?s wrong, it?s unfair, it?s not right,? Patrick said. ?Talent deserves to be honored and slapped if you do something stupid as well, but don’t take it too far…?

And Monday on ?Good Morning America,? the two tourists ? Kimberly Lesack and Julie Smith ? who partied with Mel at the restaurant Moonshadows in Malibu told Bill Weir they knew Mel had been drinking.

Mel was a bit tipsy, the girls told GMA, but he was walking and talking straight and wasn’t any more tipsy than anyone else.

People at the restaurant reportedly offered to drive Mel home, but he declined.

That’s when he was stopped by police, and unleashed the torrent of words heard round the world.

?I was like Mel, you messed up!? Vivica A. Fox told Access Hollywood. ?I’m like, for real you messed up but you know, we all make mistakes.?

Manyagreed with Vivica, as thousands of viewers swarmed our Access Hollywood polls and showed their overwhelming support for Mel.

More than 5,000 viewers logged onto AccessHollywood.com to give their opinions.

When asked if they believed that Mel was anti-Semitic, 67 percent said they do not, while 37 percent think he is.

In the second poll, which asked viewers whether or not they would go see another Mel Gibson movie, 81% responded “Yes” while 19% responded “No.”

The viewers favorite? ?Braveheart,? which edged out ?Lethal Weapon? by one percentage point, with 27 percent.

But one star might disagree with those numbers.

Comedian Rob Schneider mixed humor with a message in a full-page ad in the entertainment trade magazine, ?Variety,? saying:

“Even if Mr. Gibson offered me the lead role in “Passion of the Christ 2,” I… would have to say “NO!”