Celebrity Mound

After sparring for more than a year, Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend have reached a financial and custody settlement of a bitter dispute that spawned a criminal case and left the Academy Award winner’s reputation damaged.

Los Angeles Superior Court officials said in a statement late Friday that Gibson and Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva had reached an agreement after days of negotiation. Terms and conditions of the settlement were not announced, but a hearing Wednesday will be held to discuss the financial terms.

The equally contentious issue of custody of the couple’s infant daughter will be handled in closed session, the court announced.

Gibson’s spokesman Alan Nierob confirmed the settlement and said the actor-director appreciated the judge’s help in mediating the case.

Grigorieva spokesman Stephen Jaffe declined comment.

The former couple have been at odds for more than a year over custody and financial issues in a mostly-secret court proceeding in Los Angeles. In June 2010, Gibson’s attorney Stephen Kolodny said that his client had provided his ex-girlfriend with a four-bedroom, multimillion dollar home, vehicle and tens of thousands of dollars a month.

It is unclear exactly how much Grigorieva has been receiving since then.

The “Braveheart” star was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery as a result of a January 2010 fight with Grigorieva and pleaded no contest earlier this year. The actor-director entered his plea in a way in which he admitted no guilt, and Grigorieva cannot use the outcome in a civil case.

He was ordered to undergo counseling and recently completed his community service by volunteering with a children’s charity in Guatemala.

The case became an international story after recordings of racist and sexist rants by Gibson were leaked to the celebrity website RadarOnline.com. Sheriff’s officials took possession of the recordings as part of their criminal investigation, but Grigorieva’s attorney announced in May that he would no longer seek to use them against the former Hollywood superstar in the custody case.

The coming days could prove crucial for Gibson to resolve some of the messiness of his personal life in recent years.

Gibson, 55, recently reached a divorce settlement with his estranged wife, Robyn, and his attorney announced in June that the case should be finalized by Tuesday.

Robyn Gibson filed to end her nearly 28 year marriage in April 2009, just months before Grigorieva gave birth. The divorce has been a mostly private affair, in sharp contrast to Gibson’s fight with Grigorieva.

Gibson announced Grigorieva’s pregnancy to Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show,” but their relationship sputtered after the girl’s birth.

In recent months, both have appeared multiple times in court for hearings and meetings with a judge handling their case. Gibson has not publicly spoken about the case.

The leaked conversations recorded by Grigorieva were the latest scandal for Gibson, who was arrested in 2006 for drunken driving; a deputy’s report revealed he made a series of anti-Semitic and sexist slurs while in custody.

Despite positive reviews for his performance as a deeply depressed man who can only communicate through a puppet, Gibson’s return to the big screen in “The Beaver” earlier this year failed to catch on with audiences.

Sydney-based insurance agency executive Andrew Gibson, 43, admits his father was stunned when he told the truth about his sexuality – but actor Mel was always supportive.

Andrew tells the Globe, “When I told my dad, he cried and blamed himself… That broke my heart.
“Mel just said, ‘It’s not my choice, but I love you and you’re my brother.’”

Andrew has been standing up for his older brother in recent years as the Hollywood star’s reputation took a hammering following an anti-Semitic outburst at a cop during a Dui arrest and the breakdown of his tempestuous romance with Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva.

Andrew reveals he was shocked by the news reports detailing his brother’s DUI arrest in 2006, recalling, “When I heard them, I just thought, ‘That isn’t Mel. He has never said anything abusive, aggressive or racist in his life’.”

Gibson’s younger brother also admits he is still upset that his sibling is no longer married to longtime wife Robyn – the mother of his seven kids – insisting she was “the most important thing in that family,” and adding, “She held it together… looked after Mel.”

The 55-year-old actor – who was accused of domestic violence by ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva last year before she dropped the charges – has been spotted on a series of dates with Greek-born Stella Mouzi including having dinner in Los Angeles earlier this month and partying at the trendy Sky Bar at The Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood last week.

Stella – who is currently in the US on a visitor’s visa – has also visited Mel’s Malibu home for a barbeque, according to TMZ.com.

Meanwhile, Mel – who is currently locked in a bitter custody with Oksana over the custody of their 20-month-old daughter Lucia – spent yesterday with the tot to celebrate Father’s Day.

The ‘Braveheart’ star – who also has six sons and one daughter with ex-wife Robyn – has recently been spending more time with Lucia after Oksana dropped her domestic violence claims against him in order to “extend an olive branch” to him.

A Domestic Violence (DV) protection order obtained against Mel – prohibiting him contacting or harassing Oksana – was also terminated as sources close to the singer say she would like to be able to communicate directly with Mel.

The couple’s custody battle continues in closed court.

Mel Gibson has broken his silence on his damaging domestic violence scandal, calling the leak of angry personal phone calls with his then-girlfriend last year a “personal betrayal.”

The Oscar-winning director of “Braveheart” described the leaked tapes, in which Gibson was heard ranting, swearing and threatening Russian girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, “terribly humiliating and painful for my family.”

Gibson added that he did not care if he ever acted again.

“I’ve never treated anyone badly or in a discriminatory way based on their gender, race, religion or sexuality — period,” Gibson told Hollywood journalist Allison Hope Weiner in a lengthy interview for website Deadline Hollywood on Friday.

Gibson last month pleaded no contest to a charge of hitting Grigorieva, the mother of his baby daughter, as their relationship broke down in early 2010.

He was sentenced to three years probation, a year of counseling and community service.

In his first public comments on the saga, Gibson said the tapes of phone calls leaked a year ago were edited, adding; “It’s 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.”

“Who anticipates being recorded? … Who could anticipate such a personal betrayal?” Gibson said.

Gibson’s longtime manager left him, his movie “The Beaver” was delayed for months, and actors on the sequel to comedy “Hangover 2″ refused to work with him because of the fall-out of the sexist and racist remarks on the tapes.

They were leaked to the media as Gibson was trying to make an acting comeback after making vicious anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 drunken driving arrest, and the end of his 28-year marriage.

The delayed movie “The Beaver”, in which Gibson plays a depressed husband who communicates through a beaver hand puppet, is now to be released in the United States on May 6.

But Gibson seemed unconcerned by what movie-goers would think of him as an actor now.

“I don’t care if I don’t act anymore,” he said. “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.”

Gibson said he was working on a “total bodice-ripping swashbuckling” comedy movie project in which he hoped to take a supporting role.

Actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jodie Foster were among the few Hollywood stars to publicly defend Gibson at the height of the Grigorieva scandal last year.

Gibson was not surprised at the lack of support.

“Why would anyone want to speak publicly and drag themselves through this crap? … Very many people are supportive of course, but you find out who your friends are.”

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who arrested Mel Gibson can proceed with a lawsuit claiming he suffered discrimination, retaliation and harassment.

A judge on Tuesday said Deputy James Mee can go forward with his complaint against the sheriff’s department.

Mee arrested Gibson on suspicion of drunken driving in 2006 in Malibu. During the arrest, the Oscar-winning actor made anti-Semitic slurs to Mee, who’s Jewish.

Mee’s lawsuit claims his superiors forced him to rewrite his initial report to remove references to the rant. However, some details were later leaked to the press. Mee was investigated as the possible source but never charged.

His suit claims that he was transferred after Gibson’s arrest and hasn’t been promoted.

The sheriff’s department has denied the allegations.