Mel Gibson said this week that his "heart goes out" to fellow actor Shia LaBeouf, who has been bombarded by bad press after a string of recent red carpet antics and a New York City arrest last month.
Gibson, who had his own lucrative career derailed after making anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 DUI arrest,
said in an interview with IndieWire this week that he can relate to LaBeouf's problems.
"When I see someone like Shia LaBeouf with the bag on his head and stuff, my heart goes out to the poor guy," the Academy Award winner said. "I think he's suffering in some way. Why would he do that? People are in line to sort of point the finger at him and say that he's this, that, or the other."
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"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," Gibson continued. "He'll probably play it out and come back . . . He'll be all right. I actually like the kid. I think he's good."
LaBeouf, the 28-year-old who starred in the "Transformers" movie franchise until this year, has been involved in a string of bad press moments since December, when it was alleged that his short film, "HowardCantour.com," was plagiarized "line for line" from Daniel Clowes' graphic novel, "Justin M. Damiano."
LaBeouf then apologized with a string of plagiarized apologies, apparently trying to mock the incident and then announced that he was retiring from public life. He followed that up by wearing a paper bag over his head during a February red carpet event in what he later dubbed an "#IAMSORRY" performance art exhibit.
Two weeks ago, he was
arrested for disorderly conduct after interrupting a Broadway performance of "Cabaret" in New York City. A week later it was reported that the actor was seeking treatment for alcohol addiction.
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