Jodie Foster: I Won't Abandon Mel Gibson

Jodie Foster says she won't abandon close friend Mel Gibson in the wake of his personal troubles.
"When you love a friend, you don't abandon them when they are struggling," she told the October issue of More magazine. "Of course, Mel is an undeniably gifted actor and director ... but more importantly, he is and has been a true and loyal friend. I hope I can help him get through this dark moment."

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Foster worked with Gibson in 1994's Maverick and recently directed him in The Beaver, which has been indefinitely shelved following the leaks of angry voicemails Gibson allegedly left Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his baby daughter.The actor is currently under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on possible domestic violence charges involving Grigorieva."The Beaver is one of his most powerful and moving performances," Foster said, adding that Gibson is the "easiest, nicest person I've ever worked with."

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"The second I met him [on Maverick], I said, 'I will love this man for the rest of my life,'" Foster said.This is not the first time Foster has come to the actor's defense. She also backed him in 2006 after a police officer accused him of making anti-Semitic remarks during his DUI arrest.

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"Mel is honest, loyal, kind, but alcoholism has been a lifelong struggle for him and his family," she said at the time. "I just wish I had been there, that I had been able to say, 'Don't do it, don't take that drink.'"