New Mel Gibson Tape Unleashed in All its Ugly, Baby-Hitting Allegation Fury

The conversation about whether or not Mel Gibson's mainstream movie career is done for got even less complicated today: The actor-producer-director's sixth published rant at Oksana Grigorieva explicitly invokes the act of both woman- and child-hitting, Gibson's not-so-reassuring response to which you'll find in the NSFW audio after the jump. Be warned: It's bad.

To the extent we can make this an industry story, let's just say the career blowback for Gibson transcends The Beaver. Library values have plummeted. The complexion of the Mad Max reboot currently underway in Australia has changed. Even for a guy who could easily self-finance and/or distribute his own films for the rest of his life, the demand has brushed bottom with this doozy. Not to be dramatic about it, either: No matter what's admissible or what comes out in court, hearing a second tape in which Gibson doesn't shy away from domestic-abuse charges is enough to suggest that extended public censure is imminent.

Not to be insensitive either, because this isn't an industry story. It's about the combustibility of a relationship whose chemistry and dynamics we'll never know, and the casualties therewith. That includes us; he wouldn't be "Mel Gibson" -- actor, filmmaker, superstar -- if he didn't have millions of fans now left in the lurch. But God truly help anyone on the other end of the line from a guy like that. "No one will believe you"? Ugh.

· EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: The Tape That Could Destroy Mel [Radar Online]

[Audio via Gawker]