Team Oksana Calls Team Mel's Extortion Claim "Ridiculous"

Team Gibson claims Grigorieva tried to bilk him for more than $10 million to prevent audio from going public while photo of baby mama after alleged attack emerges online

By Gina Serpe Jul 16, 2010 6:22 PMTags
Mel Gibson, Oksana GrigorievaBERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/Getty Images; Michael Caulfield/OG/Getty Images

There's salacious and then there's just despicable. The Mel Gibson-Oksana Grigorieva saga has just crossed the line.

To complement this week's steady stream of leaked audiotapes, RadarOnline.com outdid itself in the shameless one-upping game this morning, posting a photo of what is purported to be a busted-up Grigorieva.

That was a cue for Team Mel to step forward with damning accusations of its own via TMZ, claiming its has proof that Gibson's estranged baby mama attempted to extort upwards of $10 million from his apparently broke self. The Gibson gang reportedly plans to turn over "physical evidence" backing up its claim to authorities apparently in hopes of turning the tables and getting Grigorieva charged with extortion.

Which, a source close to the Russian-born singer tells E! News, is "ridiculous."

"It has never been about the money for her," the source said. "It has always been about protecting her child."

Grigorieva has adamantly denied leaking anything about her case to RadarOnline. But she has turned over evidence to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, which is investigating domestic violence allegations against Gibson.

As for the photo which appeared on the gossip site this morning, Gibson-slanted sources told TMZ that the images shown do not appear to be consistent with injuries that would be sustained during the kind of violent altercation alleged by Grigorieva.

No bruising, internal or external tissue damage, aside from the cracked veneers, are immediately apparent on the image (though the fact that two-thirds of it is blocked by the ever-subtle Radar watermark may have a little something to do with it).

Meanwhile, attorneys for the duo turned up in court yesterday in the first face-off to determine which party should be granted custody of their 8-month-old daughter Lucia. Part of Gibson's initial defense was a declaration from his wife of 28 years Robyn, who stated that he never got physical with her or any of their seven children for the entire time they were together.

Grigorieva's camp, meanwhile, has also alleged that baby Lucia got caught in the allegedly violent crossfire and that she, too, suffered bruising. There were reportedly pictures taken of her, too, and those disturbing images will no doubt appear on the leaker's website of choice in the near future.

Later today, Grigorieva's son with ex-husband Timothy Dalton, 12-year-old Alexander, will reportedly meet with officials from the Department of Children and Family Services to give further insight into the inner workings of his mother's relationship.

There was no immediate comment from DCFS. Meanwhile, a Sheriff's spokesman said the department was not going to comment on "minor developments" in the case.

The custody hearings will resume next week.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

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A picture's worth a thousand words. So prepare to say "WTF" repeatedly when viewing our gallery of Mel Gibson's Crazy Faces!