Gibson: 'Public Humiliation on a Global Scale' Made Him Address Alcoholism

Oct. 12, 2006 — -- On the morning following his arrest for drunken driving, actor Mel Gibson continued drinking as he talked to his children at home, he told Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America. "

Gibson spoke out for the first time today about the anti-Semitic comments he made to police when they booked him for drunken driving over the summer.

"I just went home and saw my kids were there. You know, I talked to them for a little bit. And it was a little … rough that morning," Gibson said. "I chased it down with a few cold ones."

"It was kind of unbearable to face. … I said, 'Well, this is it. This will be the end of it, but I just have to get through this morning,'" he said. "You're not operating well, but you know you have to do something. … I wasn't flashing it in front of them or anything."

Watch the second part of Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview with Mel Gibson Friday, Oct. 13, on "Good Morning America," which airs across the country from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The actor called July 28 a "day to remember" in the interview.

Gibson was pulled over shortly after 2 a.m. on July 28 in Malibu, Calif., for speeding, and he reportedly made anti-Semitic comments during his arrest.

He later apologized and called the remarks "despicable."

Like most days, he went to work, saw people, and saw a screening of his friend's movie, he said.

"I guess I must have been a little overwrought. So … and that's what happens. Too much pressure, too much work. You do things that go against good judgment," he told Sawyer. "A few drinks later, and I was in the back of a police car wailing."

Gibson was also arrested drunk in 1984, after rear-ending a car. He has talked about considering suicide before he entered Alcoholics Anonymous in 1991. Since then, his family has had to endure his relapses, but this time with the added horror of watching the news about his bigoted words.

The actor said that he didn't know how many drinks he had that night, but that he was drinking tequila and that he had been drinking again for a couple of months.