HODA KOTB, co-host:
On Tuesday, yet a third recording believed to be a conversation between
Oscar
-winner
Mel Gibson
and his estranged girlfriend,
Oksana Grigorieva
, was released by
Radar Online
.
WILLIE GEIST, co-host:
The first two recordings released earlier this week unleashed what sounds like an angry
Mel Gibson
using racial slurs and threatening
Oksana
's life.
KOTB:
Yeah. In this recording we hear
Oksana
speaking up. Let's listen.
Ms. OKSANA GRIGORIEVA:
You took me, you possessed me, everything I am. You own me with my liver and my kidneys and my thoughts and my soul. Everything. You control me like marionette. I don't belong to myself, only to you. I can't do anything and I walk on eggshells always with you.
Mr. MEL GIBSON:
That's because you're a......using whore.
KOTB:
Former
DA
and county Judge
Jeanine Pirro
is the host of "The Judge
Jeanine Pirro
Show." Great show. And
Bonnie Fuller
is the president and editor-in-chief of hollywoodlife.com. OK, we hear those -- we hear that recording and it -- just before we get into all the details, it sounds funny. It sounds like either she's reading or something doesn't sound just right about that.
Judge JEANINE PIRRO (National Domestic Violence Hotline Board Member):
You know, she has an accent. I don't know if she's reading or not reading.
KOTB:
Right.
Judge PIRRO:
But, you know, it doesn't matter to me. What this woman is trying to do is to get evidence of a crime.
KOTB:
Yeah.
Judge PIRRO:
And even though in
California
it's a two-party state, you need both parties to agree to a recorded phone call, there is an exception in the
penal law
which allows someone who's getting evidence of a felony, a violent felony, to tape record someone. So although some people will think this tape doesn't comes in, in comes in, it's not suppressible. This guy is a batterer. He is a psychological, emotional, financial abuser. He says, "I own you. You deserved it."
KOTB:
Mm-hmm.
Judge PIRRO:
He takes credit for the beating. It's all there. You've got a willing witness, corroboration, words coming from the mouth of the accused, it's all there.
GEIST:
And,
Bonnie
, so interesting, we haven't heard a single word from
Mel Gibson
or his camp. If he wanted to protest...
KOTB:
His kids. Yeah.
GEIST:
...these in any way he would have done it by now. What does that tell you?
Ms. BONNIE FULLER (President Editor-in-Chief, Hollywoodlife.com):
Well, what it says to me is that he's getting advised to keep his mouth shut.
KOTB:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. FULLER:
And to keep everybody who's close to him quiet because I don't think they know everything that she has on him.
And I
don't think he wants to say something. They're waiting for the other show to drop. Besides, how do you defend against this? They have his voice on tape. He's not ever saying `that's not my voice.'
KOTB:
But even if this isn't admissible,
Jeanine
, let's pretend that they...
Judge PIRRO:
No, but it is. OK.
KOTB:
...
let's pretend
it isn't.
Judge PIRRO:
OK.
KOTB:
Everybody has heard it, so what is...
Judge PIRRO:
Mm-hmm.
KOTB:
...so what is that going to do to the case?
Judge PIRRO:
Well, you know, you've got -- you can get a jury and I've tried these cases. I started the first domestic violence unit.
KOTB:
Yeah.
Judge PIRRO:
You can say to the jurors, `
Look
, that is not evidence that you can consider.' And then what the judge has to do is make it clear that they can't. So certainly in terms of his reputation, you know, he seems to be destroyed. He hates everybody. He hates
women
, he hates, you know -- he's anti-Semitic. But the bottom line is that he corroborates her claims. In addition to the child endangerment, he says when she says, `I was holding my baby and you hit me,' he admits to it and he says `you deserved it.' You've got child endangerment, felony assault, criminal threats, as well as threats on the phone.
KOTB:
So verbal threats count? I mean if it's a
verbal threat
...
Judge PIRRO:
Yes, in
California
. Checked it out.
California penal code
absolutely a crime. Criminal harassment.
Ms. FULLER:
Now we've talked to attorneys also who say that he could get up to eight years in jail.
Judge PIRRO:
Yes.
KOTB:
Really?
Judge PIRRO:
Yes.
Ms. FULLER:
So he can't -- he doesn't know what he's doing next. I mean, forget his
career
being killed. This man could be behind bars for quite some time.
Judge PIRRO:
And you know, the shame is there are so many
women
out there and a great resource is the
National Domestic Violence Hotline
.
KOTB:
Mm-hmm.
Judge PIRRO:
The number's 1-800-799-SAFE. They can help
women
. There are so many
women
out there listening to us who have a problem. There's help, there's a resource. And, you know, this woman is classic. He is a classic batterer. Everything that comes out of his mouth is something that a batterer would say or do.
Ms. FULLER:
Now,
Jeanine
, though, don't you think, though, that she was coached? You feel she got legal counsel?
Judge PIRRO:
Yes.
Ms. FULLER:
I mean, everyone is talking about she's so calm in these tape recordings.
Judge PIRRO:
But,
Bonnie
, why did she do it? She did it because she's not considered credible.
KOTB:
Right.
Judge PIRRO:
Everybody loves this guy. He's this affable character. She's standing there saying, `I'm from
Russia
, you know, who's going to believe me.'
Ms. FULLER:
Right.
Judge PIRRO:
Well, you know what, she got the goods.
KOTB:
Is her
career
dead? Is her
career
over?
Judge PIRRO:
Her
career
?
KOTB:
His
career
, I'm sorry, his
career
over?
Ms. FULLER:
You know what, his
career
-- first of all, his
career
was already over with the younger audience. They don't even know; it's
Mel
who?
KOTB:
Right. Yeah.
Ms. FULLER:
So he's got enough money to make his own movies...
KOTB:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. FULLER:
...but he's got a
long way to go
before he's doing that.
