Holy weird. Britney Spears and Mel Gibson are vacationing together. Seems like an odd pairing, right? Well not so much, when you think about it. Britney and Mel both have substance abuse issues. Mel is known for his deep spirituality – he even built his own church - and Britney wore a red Kabbalah bracelet for several months. So they have a lot more in common than you’d think.

Entertainment Tonight can confirm that Britney Spears and Mel Gibson are currently en route to Costa Rica on vacation together. Their plane departed at 9:05 AM this morning.

ET spotted them leaving on a private plane to the Central American state early this morning. Sources tell ET that Mel is taking Britney and her father Jamie for a mini vacation at his home is Costa Rica.

According to the terms of her custody Britney’s children cannot leave the country without special approval, so they are not joining her on the trip.

While the pop star and the actor may appear to be an unlikely duo, they used to live in the same Malibu community and were spotted having dinner together at Studio City’s Romanov restaurant in March.

[From the Huffington Post]

The Daily News says that Gibson wanted to take Britney and her dad Jamie on a “mini-vacay to get away from it all.” I’m hoping this will actually involve some sort of exorcism or something. Couldn’t really hurt.

Let’s not forget that Britney is widely rumored to be pregnant for a third time. Mel Gibson is an old school Catholic who doesn’t believe in the changes brought about by the Vatican II. Something tells me if he finds out Britney Spears is pregnant again, he’s going to finally believe it’s a sign from God that birth control is cool with him.

Aside from the possibility of a pregnant getaway, it’s hard to guess what in the world Mel Gibson wants to do with Britney Spears and her dad on an island. But like Entertainment Tonight pointed out, they used to be neighbors and have been spotted having dinner together a few times. Supposedly Gibson has taken a fatherly interest in Britney, and unlike a lot of celebs who kept telling the press they wanted to help her, Gibson might actually be trying to. So I’m going to assume it’s something nice. And not creepy.

This is a bizarre and sad story. A guy working on one of Mel Gibson’s homes hung himself. None of Mel’s family was living there, and it sounds like it was ruled a suicide:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ a construction worker committed suicide at Mel Gibson’s house today.

It happened at Mel’s Agoura Hills home — near Malibu. The construction worker was 47-years-old. We’re told he hanged himself.

The Sheriff’s substation in Lost Hills took the call at 8:07 AM — that’s the same station where Mel was taken after his DUI arrest in 2006.

Mel was not at the house when the body was discovered. A law enforcement source says no one from Gibson’s family was living at the house — it is currently under heavy construction.

[From TMZ]

I hope this guy’s family can find some peace. At least there was no one living in the home, but can you imagine going back to a house where someone killed themselves? That sounds so selfish in a way, but that’s the type of situation where you feel creepy living there afterwards.

I know Hollywood is a weird place, but this story is strange even for those standards. Britney Spears, fresh from her recent taping of a small role on the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” was seen having dinner with actor Mel “Sugartits” Gibson on Saturday evening.

Only on Planet Britney. On Saturday Britney Spears started the day with another visit from her sons Preston and Jayden, and ended the evening at a Russian restaurant for a dinner meeting with Mel Gibson.

The actor and the pop star – once neighbors in an exclusive Malibu community – were part of a two-hour group dinner at the Romanov restaurant in Studio City on Saturday.

“It was exciting to have both of them here together,” says one restaurant source. “We heard they hit it off and that Britney seemed excited.”

Clad in jeans, a green top and boots and chewing gum, Spears arrived at the Romanov restaurant with her friend Victoria. Gibson, accompanied by a few friends, soon joined them in the restaurant’s private dining room, which features a 24-karat gold leaf ceiling, an ornate fireplace and a library stocked with such works as Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. For two hours the group dined on filet mignon and Russian specialties, and drank water and soft drinks.

Leaving the restaurant for her Studio City home around 8:15, Spears “looked happy,” says an observer, “so it seems the meeting was a success.”

[From People.com]

Why do we care if the library at this restaurant carries “War and Peace”? It’s not like either of these people are going to read it. I’m way more interested in which boots Britney was wearing– I hope she wasn’t wearing those disgusting brown ones. It’s been a while since those boots have seen the light of day, which I am going to take as a positive sign. Those boots are right up there with the pink wig in terms of being a signal of crazy.

The more pressing question is: What on earth do these two people have to talk about?

Header image is of Britney last week and Mel Gibson in October, 2007.

Update: Thanks to Hollywood.TV for this video of Britney and Mel entering and leaving the restaurant separately

One of Mel Gibson’s seven kids is having problems that mirror his dad’s, but at least he’s getting treatment early. 25 year-old Edward Gibson entered Cri-Help treatment facility in late September to try and conquer his demons. Edward is determined to quit using drugs and alcohol and it sounds like he made a personal choice to go to rehab and wasn’t forced into it. He is also refusing all visitors, and will not see his family.

Edward’s twin Christian was arrested for DUI in 2005, but Edward has yet to run afoul of the law and he plans to keep it that way.

“Mel is devastated,” a source told The Enquirer. “He feels so helpless because Edward won’t see him.

“Edward’s drugs of choice are alcohol and cocaine,” said the source. Sadly, his father’s fame is only adding to Edward’s problems, said the source. “He’s very self-conscious and finds it difficult to speak about his background, which is thwarting his recovery,” the source divulged…

Edward tried to kick his addictions on his own, but he just couldn’t, the source added.

“Edward was terrified he’d be caught under the influence driving a car like his dad - or worse - killing someone at the wheel,” said the source.

He’s not refusing visitors, especially his father, “because he doesn’t want any distractions or to cause any disruptions for hte other patients,” said the source.

“Edward told a pal: ‘I know my dad loves me, but this is something I have to do by myself for myself. My dad is just going to have to chill.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 12, 2007]

The article goes on to say that Edward fears being lumped in the same category as other celebrities’ kids who just go wild. He is also said to speak frequently about how he doesn’t want to end up like his dad.

Maybe he will beat his addictions early and come away with the tools to avoid long term alcoholism like his father. Mel Gibson is shown here at the American Gangster screening last week, and he definitely doesn’t look sober. According to Cinema Blend, Gibson is next going to star in a police thriller with Denzel Washington called Under and Alone. Maybe that’s why he showed up to support Denzel, although he would have done both of them a favor by keeping his drunk ass on the bar stool instead. No wonder his kid is avoiding him while he’s trying to get sober.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

A 29 year-old woman has come forward claiming to be Mel Gibson’s daughter. She says her mother was just 17 while she met the then 30 year-old Gibson while hitchhiking in Australia. She said Mel went home to get a mattress and a pillow for the back of his station wagon just in case they, you know, got tired, and that he got her mom pregnant during their brief encounter. Although he had yet to make the Mad Max movies, Mel was quite sure of himself at that age and bragged to the teen hitchhiker that he was going to be a famous actor:

Carmel, 29, said: “I’m not doing it for his money. I just want to meet the man I’ve always known was my dad — and for him to get to know his grandson.”

The paternity suit is the latest blow for the Braveheart star. Earlier this year he was arrested for drink-driving and launched an anti-Jewish tirade against cops.

Legal papers will be served on Gibson, 50, this week and he will either have to admit he’s the father or have a swab taken from inside his mouth for DNA testing.

Carmel — who has seen every film he’s made — added: “I’d love it if he recognised us as family. I’m not looking for a meal ticket. I am happy with my life.”

Her amazing story began in 1976 when Mel, then a young Australian wannabe actor in Adelaide, picked up Carmel’s mum Marilyn as she was hitch-hiking.

The aspiring star — who now has seven children with his wife of 26 years, Robyn — hadn’t even made his first movie when he stopped for the blonde 17-year-old thumbing a lift to Sydney.

Carmel’s mum Marilyn, now 47, recalls: “I was a slim young woman in tight-fitting jeans on the side of the road when a station wagon stopped.

“Mel turned to look at me with those amazing blue eyes and I was mesmerised. He said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘A long way from here.’

“He told me his name was Mel. He said he would take me all the way but first he had to go home and get some petrol money.

“He made me hide under a blanket in the back of the car, saying something about his mother being in town. We stopped outside a house and he came out with a mattress and a couple of pillows and some petrol money.

“He said he had brought the mattress in case we had to stop for the night. We got on really well. He was charming and funny. He told me he was going to be a famous movie star.

“He said he was going to change his name but I told him not to. I said Mel Gibson was a really nice name and it suited him.

“When we stopped for the night Mel got in the back on the mattress but I stayed in the front. I said I didn’t trust him but to be honest I didn’t trust myself either! He was so sexy. I didn’t have any contraceptives with me and I hadn’t had much to do with guys.

“Eventually he persuaded me to join him in the back. I told him, ‘If anything happens and I get pregnant I’ll come looking for you’. He replied, ‘I am going to be famous. You will always know where to find me.’

“We spent the night making love and talking. But when it got light Mel said he had to be back at work — in an orange juice factory in Adelaide.

“I got out of the car and never saw him again. It broke my heart to walk away.

The 29 year-old has a ten year old son, who could be Gibson’s grandson. She claims that she is not looking for money, but that sounds unlikely.

It seems like Gibson has some powerful sperm if this is true. He has a whopping seven children with his wife of 27 years, Robyn Moore.

Gibson’s gross-out tale Apocalypto is inexplicably first at the box office. That could explain this woman’s motivation.

According to a Courtney Love fansite, Mel Gibson once visited her in her hotel room and staged an intervention for the troubled rock star. When a high Courtney refused to let Mel in, he waited until a delivery guy came to the door and then busted in. It’s unknown exactly what happened in that hotel room over a year ago, but Courtney got sober soon afterwards and now considers Mel her personal saviour:

That’s ironic and all considering that Mel never went to rehab himself after his high profile DUI arrest over a year after supposedly saving Courtney. He entered a “program of recovery” which was presumed to be outpatient since he never checked himself into a facility.

I didn’t pay attention to Mel Gibson’s two part drawn-out interview with Diane Sawyer because I was really sick of him at that point, but considering that he said he felt “powerless over everything,” it’s safe to assume that he’s going to AA meetings.

Mel Gibson’s dad is an anti-semite, and now we know that his son is a drunk driver too. Gibson’s son Christian, 24, was busted for driving drunk while at college last year and spent five hours in jail:

If inpatient substance abuse treatment is good enough for his son, who had completed treatment prior to Gibson’s arrest, why can’t Gibson check himself into rehab too? He must think he’s above that. Drunken arrogance must run in the family.

The Mel Gibson story may be fading from the headlines, but the memory of the uber-rich religious director’s anti-semitic outburst won’t leave our collective consciousness for years. He’s going to be the punchline, the scapegoat, and box office poison for a while. (And C-List actors will keep bringing him up to either support or scorn, whatever suits their publicity needs.)

Cagle.com has lots of clever political cartoons about the Mel Gibson incident. Mel’s career in film and his multiple over-the-top apologies provide plenty of fodder to make fun of him.

Each of the following artists granted permission to post their work here.

Peter Lewis, Australia
Lewisart.biz

Adam Zyglis Buffalo, NY
The Buffalo News
www.adamzyglis.com

Grumpy Old Indian Man Stokholm, Sweden
goyim.wordpress.com

Michael de Adder, Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Daily News
www.deadder.net

R.J. Matson, NY
The New York Observer and Roll Call
rjmatson.com

Mike Lester, Rome, GA
Rome News-Tribune
www.mikedujour.com

Doug Marlette, FL
Tulsa World
dougmarlette.com

Gallery of the Absurd has this fabulous new Mel Gibson bumper sticker. If they would create actual bumper stickers like this, they would sell out.

The pictures of Mel partying it up before refusing a ride home, getting arrested and going apeshit have come out. He looks every bit the aged, washed up bigot.

Mel also said back in the day that he hates gay people, and that he’s such an asshole because he’s a closet case:

He really must hate himself most of all for ruining his posh lifestyle making obscure vanity films.

People are pointing out that if Roman Polanski violated a 13 year-old girl and got his career back after fleeing the country, Mel can too. It took Polanski over twenty years. In Mel’s case, he can probably put his extreme bigotry behind him in about ten.

Maybe he should just invest his money or go into real estate development.

Everyone was saying that Mel Gibson’s career was over after he was caught defaming Jewish people during a DUI arrest. It was assumed that he would go on some sort of unspoken industry black list.

It’s gone beyond passive-agressive whispers and shunning. People are so pissed that they’re calling for an all-out boycott of Mel:

The arresting officer, a Jewish guy with 17 years on the force, is contrite about the whole episode, and insists that he doesn’t want to ruin Mel’s career. Mel did that all on his own.

Meanwhile those stupid women on “The View” are trying to remain relevant by saying that they don’t want to see any more Mel Gibson movies. Countless people undoubtedly agree with them.

The U.S. Jewish Anti-Defamation League has said his colleagues should “condemn him and distance themselves from him.”

And it gets even better - it’s come out that several people offered Gibson a ride home that night and he refused.

Gibson has checked himself into rehab in an effort to do damage control, but the damage is extensive and it’s already done. He’s richer than sin, and unless Opus Dei has taken all his cash he should sit back and enjoy his millions while waiting for this to pass. Maybe he should get some sensitivity training, too.

Now that the news is out that Mel is a royal jerk, the LA County Sheriff’s department figured they may as well release his mug shot. The long beard is gone and he doesn’t look half bad for a drunken bigot.