Mel Gibson exchanged angry words with a university professor who challenged the accuracy of his film ''Apocalypto'' at an on-campus screening.
March 25, 2007 (Press Release) --
Gibson was answering questions from the crowd at California State University, Northridge, Thursday night when Alicia Estrada, an assistant professor of Central American studies, accused the actor-director of misrepresenting the Mayan culture in the movie.
Gibson told the woman to "f--- off," and she was removed from the crowd.
''In no way was my question aggressive in the way that he responded to it,'' Estrada said. ''These are questions that my peers, my colleagues, ask me every time I make a presentation. These are questions I pose to my students in the classroom.''
Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, characterized the professor as ''a heckler.''
''The woman ... was rude and disruptive inasmuch as the event organizers had to escort her out,'' Nierob said.
Lauren Robeson, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, the Daily Sundial, said Gibson denounced Estrada as a troublemaker.
Estrada is demanding an apology, ''not only to me but to the Central American program at CSUN, to the university and most importantly to the Mayan people and Mayan community.''
About 130 students attended the screening. The interruption occurred about 20 minutes into Thursday's program, when two audience members refused to relinquish the microphone after asking their questions, university spokesman John Chandler said. They were escorted out by campus security, he said, and Gibson continued answering questions for another 40 minutes.
Before the program ended, Gibson ''expressed regret that things had gotten out of hand,'' Chandler said.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY SANDY COHEN
Gibson told the woman to "f--- off," and she was removed from the crowd.
''In no way was my question aggressive in the way that he responded to it,'' Estrada said. ''These are questions that my peers, my colleagues, ask me every time I make a presentation. These are questions I pose to my students in the classroom.''
Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, characterized the professor as ''a heckler.''
''The woman ... was rude and disruptive inasmuch as the event organizers had to escort her out,'' Nierob said.
Lauren Robeson, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, the Daily Sundial, said Gibson denounced Estrada as a troublemaker.
Estrada is demanding an apology, ''not only to me but to the Central American program at CSUN, to the university and most importantly to the Mayan people and Mayan community.''
About 130 students attended the screening. The interruption occurred about 20 minutes into Thursday's program, when two audience members refused to relinquish the microphone after asking their questions, university spokesman John Chandler said. They were escorted out by campus security, he said, and Gibson continued answering questions for another 40 minutes.
Before the program ended, Gibson ''expressed regret that things had gotten out of hand,'' Chandler said.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY SANDY COHEN
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