Appearing on Keith Olbermann's Countdown show on MSNBC, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, who regularly appears on the show to poke fun at celebrities in the news, used actor/filmmaker Mel Gibson's recent anti-Semitic outburst as an opportunity to smear Gibson's general audience as also being racist. Responding to a question from Olbermann about whether Gibson's career would suffer, Musto labeled Gibson's audience, presumably referring to Passion of the Christ fans, as "deeply anti-Semitic," and as "deeply proud" of Gibson's expression of anti-Semitism. Musto: "He doesn't work with anybody else, and his audience is already deeply anti-Semitic, so they're deeply proud of him after this." (Transcript follows)
Below is a transcript of Musto's exchange with Olbermann from the July 31 Countdown show:
Keith Olbermann, while displaying Mel Gibson's mug shot on screen: "You haven't chimed in on all of this, Michael. Give me that overview. What do you think the big debate here is as we look at him smiling sadly into the camera if possible. Has his career ended on a Malibu highway on early Saturday morning?"
Michael Musto, The Village Voice: "Unfortunately, no, because he works alone, anyway. He doesn't work with anybody else, and his audience is already deeply anti-Semitic, so they're deeply proud of him after this."
