LOS ANGELES – Mel Gibson is heard allegedly acknowledging that the actor hit the mother of his 8-month-old daughter in a recording released by a celebrity news website.
The eight-minute recording posted Monday by RadarOnline.com is purportedly a phone argument between Gibson, 54, and then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.
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A voice sounding distinctively like the Academy Award winner is heard telling Grigorieva that she “deserved” to be hit after she chastised him for allegedly punching her in the face and breaking two of her teeth.
“What kind of a man is that?” she is heard asking. “Hitting a woman when she’s holding a child in her hands? Breaking her teeth twice in the face! What kind of man is that?”
“Oh, you’re all angry now!” Gibson responds. “You know what, you (expletive deleted) deserved it!”
Alan Nierob, a spokesman for Gibson, declined comment on the tape.
The former couple have been locked in a bitter custody dispute in Los Angeles. The 40-year-old singer has accused Gibson of domestic violence, and sheriff’s officials have launched an investigation.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore would not say directly whether the recordings released by RadarOnline would become part of the investigation, but he said any potential evidence would be thoroughly reviewed and considered.
“Everything is part of the investigation,” he said. “Anything that is connected to the case we will investigate.”
He said there was no time frame for the inquiry into Gibson to be concluded. “The larger the volume, the longer it will take,” Whitmore said.
After detectives conclude their work, the case will be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which will decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
Last week, a recording posted by RadarOnline.com included segments it said was Gibson telling Grigorieva that she was dressing too provocatively and that it would be her fault if she were raped. He used the N-word at one point.
Jury picked for extortion trial
MARQUETTE, Mich. – A jury has been chosen in the trial of a Michigan couple charged with conspiring to extort money from actor John Stamos in exchange for photos they claimed showed the actor with cocaine and strippers.
Testimony was expected to begin later Monday in federal court in Marquette. The trial is expected to last two to three days.
Allison Coss and Scott Sippola are accused of trying to squeeze $680,000 out of the “Full House” and “ER” star.
Federal prosecutors say the photos don’t exist, but the couple claims the photos were lost or destroyed during an FBI raid. Defense attorneys say the couple offered Stamos a chance to buy the pictures but that it wasn’t extortion.
Surgery can’t stop Walters
NEW YORK – Barbara Walters says she is “fully recovered” just two months after open heart surgery.
Walters made her first TV appearance Monday since the procedure in May to replace a faulty valve. She checked in with her fellow panelists on ABC’s “The View.”
Walters said from her Manhattan apartment that she was never in serious discomfort from the surgery. In the studio, her co-hosts marveled at her robust appearance.
Joy Behar said, “You look fine.”
The 80-year-old Walters will take the rest of the summer off. She says she will rejoin her comrades when “The View” begins its new season in September.
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