Giulio Marcocchi/Sipa PressPoor Mel Gibson! The nation has been so caught up in Sheenanigans that the O.G. celeb trainwreck must've been feeling a little left out. Which explains why he's flinging himself back into the spotlight this morning, reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in his domestic violence case.
As expected, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office finally made good on its investigation into the whole Mel mess, with John Galliano's role model ready to plead no contest to misdemeanor battery when he turns up in court Friday morning stemming from his seemingly never-ending altercations last year with baby mama Oksana Grigorieva.
So, he's ready to admit his wrongdoing. Is he headed for the slammer?
Of course not. Who do you think he is, some sort of regular person?
Mel's admission was part of a plea deal brokered with prosecutors to avoid a messy trial, and excuses the actor from receiving any jail time for his actions. Instead, Gibson is expected to undergo counseling ('cause that's worked so well for him in the past) and possibly serve some length of probation.
"I know from almost 20 years as a criminal defense lawyer that sometimes justice can come for a client at too high a personal price," Gibson's attorney Blair Berk said in a statement this morning. "That is particularly so for Mel, whose right to due process can only be exercised in this case with an enormous media circus attached.
"Mel's priority through all of this has been that the best interests of his young daughter Lucia and the rest of his children be put first in any decisions made. It is with only that in mind that he asked me to approach the District Attorney with a proposal that would bring all of this to an immediate end."
In any case, the charge—separate from the extortion case Mel lodged against Oksana, which is still pending—has been a long time coming, as the D.A. has been reviewing the domestic violence case since Grigorieva first accused Gibson last July.
And, of course, it's also hardly a surprising outcome seeing as how Mel had already admitted to hitting Oksana in a declaration filed last year. (No word on whether he was also only acting in the best interest of his daughter when he decided to lay hands on her mother…in front of their child.)
"I slapped Oksana one time with an open hand in an attempt to bring her back to reality," he wrote. "I did not slap her hard, I was just trying to shock her so that she would stop screaming, continuing shaking Lucia back and forth."
He went on to say that he was simply concerned about Shaken Baby Syndrome, since Oksana, holding Lucia at the time, was moving so rapidly to get away from him. Gee, wonder why.
In addition to the infamous ranting phone calls, the case also included photos of the couple's daughter Lucia with bruising on her chin, which Oksana alleged had been sustained during a violent altercation between her and Mel. She also claimed that the actor had punched her in the face, knocked out her two front teeth (while holding their daughter) and that he threatened to kill them in an incident that took place all the way back in January of last year.
As for the extortion case, prosecutors said last month that they have been presented with evidence and are currently weighing whether Oksana will face criminal extortion charges in connection with the release of the Mel tapes. Camp Mel alleges that she tried to swindle $15 million from her famous ex in exchange for keeping the recordings under wraps.
(Originally published March 9, 2011, at 10:09 a.m. PT)