Mel Gibson shouted terrifying epithets at his houseguests during a rampage at his home in Costa Rica in December, according to a recording obtained by TheWrap.
Houseguest and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas provided the recording. (Editor’s note: Recording and quotations below contain highly offensive language.)
Eszterhas told TheWrap on Wednesday that he released the recording because “Gibson called me a liar. And I also have some reason to believe he’s creating a PR blitz questioning my truthfulness.”
Also read: Mel Gibson to 'Get the Gringo' Producer: Funny, You Don't Look Jewish
During the rampage, Gibson shouts at Eszterhas for not having delivered a script of “The Maccabees,” their joint movie project:
“Why don’t I have a first draft of 'The Maccabees'? What the fuck have you been doing?” he bellows. (Photograph above by Nick Eszterhas.)
About his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, Gibson shouts, “I am earning money for a filthy little cocksucker who takes advantage of me!”
Read the full transcript of the tape here.
A spokesman for Gibson did not respond to an email seeking comment.
But mostly the recording captures an unhinged, angry Gibson storming around his Costa Rica property, knocking over a totem pole. According to Eszterhas (pictured below) and his family, Gibson also threw a cellphone.
The recording, about two and a half minutes long, captures only part of an angry bender described by Eszterhas in a letter published by TheWrap. It was recorded on an iPod on Dec. 7, 2011, by Eszterhas’ 15-year-old son Nick, who was with his parents, Joe and Naomi.
Also read: Joe Eszterhas: Why I Released The Mel Gibson Rant (Exclusive, Video)
Other houseguests present at the time were screenwriter Randall Wallace, his girlfriend Elizabeth Topp and Gibson friend Brad Hillstrom, according to Eszterhas. House staff and their children also were present.
The release of the recording follows a public dispute between Gibson and Eszterhas. The screenwriter wrote a nine-page letter obtained by TheWrap, accusing the movie star of making continual anti-Semitic remarks, threatening violence to Grigorieva and detailing out-of-control behavior, including the rampage he described in detail.
Also read: Scene of the Rant: Mel Gibson's Costa Rican Hideaway (Slideshow)
The movie star responded in a letter that much of Eszterhas’ allegations were “utter fabrications.”
According to Eszterhas' letter, Gibson's rant began unexpectedly, as the guests had gathered for before-dinner drinks, and Gibson happened to look at a photo of himself holding his baby daughter Luci in which he was gray and balding:
The letter reads:
"You were staring at the photograph of you and Luci, your beautiful little girl … and you suddenly exploded. You hurled your cellphone into a wall and started to scream, 'I look so fucking old! I look horrible! That fucking whore is destroying me! She’s taking my looks! I hate her! She’s destroying my life!'
"You jumped up, screaming full-throated: 'Look at me!! Fucking look at me! Look how terrible I look! Answer me, God! Why did you turn your back on me!? Fuck you! Fuck you!' You stepped a few feet away and screamed into the sky, 'I’m not gonna take it up the ass anymore and say, ‘Thank you, your honor!’”
According to the letter, Gibson ran around the side of the house to a downstairs, open-air billiard room — all of which can be heard on the recording. His houseguests, shocked and terrified, stayed in the dining room.
The recording shows that Gibson is out of control and needs psychiatric treatment.
Also read: Joe Eszterhas to Mel Gibson: ‘Don’t Call Me a Liar, I Have a Tape’ (Exclusive)
“The bottom line is it shows to me he badly needs help,” Eszterhas told TheWrap. “My interest isn’t to damage him with this tape but to prevent damage being done to others, starting with Jews, including Oksana and now, I’m sure, me. I strongly believe that unless he seeks and receives some kind of psychiatric help, someone is going to get hurt.”
Also read: Mel Gibson on Oksana Grigorieva: 'I'm Going to Have Her Killed,' Letter Says
Eszterhas added that his son Nick “was adamant I release this tape. He said, ‘I know how frightened we all were. No one has the right to treat another human being that way. This tape shows him the way he really is.’”
Here's the recording and the transcript.