GettyMel Gibson is used to defending his actions.
Unfortunately for the 60-year-old Lethal Weapon actor, he now has to defend what goes on behind his closed doors with his 26-year-old girlfriend Rosalind Ross.
The couple have been together for two years and Ross is pregnant with Mel’s ninth child.
GettyRoss – the most decorated vaulter in America history – is 34 years Mel’s junior, which apparently means we, Joe Public, have a right to question him about the relationship.
Gibson, who has seven children by ex-wife Robyn Moore, said:
Regarding age and relationships, it’s just a number.
She is an adult and we dig each other.
The interview, which appeared in The Mirror was supposed to focus on Gibson upcoming Hacksaw Ridge and is a sad indictment of how the media treats the personal lives of public figures as mindless fodder.
GIPHYWhen pressed about the age gap, Gibson said:
It might cause a problem and one has a trepidation about these things, but it’s working out great. She is a really special person.
Evidently. Ross is a celebrated athlete, mentor for young adults, aspiring screen-writer and soon-to-be mother. So why, oh why, does the media continue to question the couple’s motives for their evident happiness?
I have a sneaky feeling, if the gender roles were switched, this would not qualify as a valid news story.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.