Mel Gibson Breaks Silence on Release of Tapes: 'It Was a Terribly Awful Moment in Time'

Feb. 4: Mel Gibson is seen during a photocall for his film 'Edge of Darkness.' (Reuters)

Nine months after the release of a series of shocking taped rants made against his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, embattled actor Mel Gibson has broken his silence.

Giving an interview to Deadline.com, Gibson says the tapes were one “terribly awful moment in time, said to one person in the span of one day, and doesn’t represent what I truly believe or how I’ve treated people my entire life.”

Gibson said he regrets what he said on the now infamous tapes, which he called a “personal betrayal.”

“Who anticipates being recorded? Who anticipates that? Who could anticipate such a personal betrayal?" he asked.

On the tapes, Gibson is heard making sexist and racist comments, something he says is not reflective of the person that his friends and family know him to be.

“The main thing is that it was terribly humiliating and painful for my family, all my kids,” he said. “I spent thirty years keeping them away from this kind of thing and I was quite successful. So why should I start now dragging them through that stuff? You try to manage that.”

Gibson also praised his friend Whoopi Goldberg, who famously came to his defense.

“I knew Whoopi before she was Whoopi. And she’s great and I always liked her and loved her. I like her even more because she got it,” he said.

The actor and director also laments living his life as a celebrity and says he is not concerned that the tapes have damaged his clout as a box office star.

“I could easily not act again. It’s not a problem. I’m going to do something now because I want to do it and because it’s fun,” he said.

He also opened up about being cut from a “Hangover II” cameo, of which he said, “I’m not greatly offended by it. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it went south.”

For now, Gibson is promoting his new film “The Beaver,” out in limited release on May 6, and says he is looking forward to moving on with his life and other projects, like writing.

“If people understood how mundane my life really is. You’re sort of thinking, who cares? It’s staggering. It’s a surprise to me. It’s just a life.”