Actor Robert Downey Jr. chose a well-attended event in Beverly Hills Friday to ask the public to forgive Mel Gibson.
The "Iron Man" actor was honored with the American Cinematheque Award. Gibson was his presenter. When Downey took to the microphone, he told the audience, "I urge you to forgive my friend his trespasses." The comment was met with applause. "Allow him to pursue his art without shame," he added.
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Gibson's public perception hasn't been a positive one since extremely nasty and and sexist recordings of the actor berating his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, went public on the Internet. There was also the 2006 DUI arrest that included an anti-Semitic rant to police.
Downey himself waged his own public battles over the years. He overcame drug addiction and a number of arrests to turnaround his remarkable career.