Mel Gibson was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor drunken driving, having an elevated blood-alcohol level and having an open container of liquor in his car.
The three counts were filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors five days after Gibson was pulled over on Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway for speeding, and he has admitted making anti-Semitic comments to the arresting deputy.
The open container violation, for a bottle of tequila allegedly found in his car, is an infraction of the vehicle code.
The charges did not mention Gibson’s self-described “belligerent behavior” toward the deputy or any allegation of speeding. Arraignment was set for Sept. 28 in Malibu Superior Court.
If convicted, Gibson faces up to six months in jail, the district attorney’s office said.
“The ball is now in his court whether he is going to ask for a trial,” said district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.
She said Gibson does not have to appear for his arraignment; he can have a lawyer appear for him.
Elton John’s advice: Get back, honky cat
Attention, rock ‘n’ rollers. Elton John is sick of your tattoos and piercings.
John, who will perform at the third Fashion Rocks concert Sept. 7 at Radio City Music Hall, says he’d like American bands to adopt the cutting-edge, glam-rock style made popular by his peers.
“It’s been a thing the British have always been very good at, with Bowie, myself, T.Rex, the Who, Queen. … We all embraced that side of it,” John, 59, tells Fashion Rocks magazine, which will be on newsstands Aug. 8.
“And I think it’s good that some American bands are beginning to do that, but it’s still very rare for bands to make a real effort. So when you get groups like The Killers and Scissor Sisters who come along, it’s thrilling. I’m so over the tattoos and the T-shirts and rings through the noses. It’s not pretty, it’s not pleasant, it’s not exciting. Please stop it now.”
John says his theatrical style, made famous in his ’70s heyday, was meant “to give people a bit of fun” while he sat at the piano for long sets.
CBS will air a two-hour special on the Fashion Rocks concert Sept. 8. Proceeds from the concert, which will kick off New York Fashion Week, will benefit John’s AIDS foundation.
“I’ve been very lucky in my life,” he says. “I was a drug addict for 16 years, at a time when AIDS was just getting started, and I put myself at so much risk. I came out of it negative rather than positive, and I wanted to do something to give back.”
Associated Press
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