Mel Gibson dropped by WME agency after agent death, tape leak, report says

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Mel Gibson has been dropped by powerful Hollywood agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment following the recent death of his agent, The Hollywood Reporter said on Friday, hours after an audio file said to be the actor's racist and expletive-filled rant against his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was published.

The report also comes amid an investigation of the actor regarding domestic violence allegations made by Grigorieva.

Ed Limato, a WME agent that represented Gibson, died on July 3 and a Gibson's spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter the actor had always planned to do without an agent after Limatos death.

"It is way too soon to be discussing agency representation out of respect to Mel's 30+ years relationship with longtime agent Ed Limato," KABC Television, OnTheRedCarpet.com's parent company, quoted a spokesperson Gibson as saying.

Gibson's representatives have refused to comment on the leaked sound clip rant, which was published by RadarOnline.com. Grigorieva's attorney has said her and Gibson's voices are the ones featured on the tape.

In the audio recording, the man insults the woman's appearance, calling her breast implants "ridiculous" and "stupid", refers to her as an "embarrassment" and says she was "provocatively dressed all the time".

The alleged attack against Grigorieva, a 40-year-old Russian model, pianist and mother of his 8-month-old daughter, is said to have taken place on January 6 at Gibson's home in Malibu, California and the 54-year-old Braveheart actor has been named a potential suspect. They have not commented on the report.

The two were reportedly involved in a heated exchange as part of an ongoing custody battle, which sparked condemnation from the NAACP for the alleged racist remarks against African Americans Gibson is said to have made in his reported rant against Grigorieva. The two, who broke up in April after a one-year relationship, filed restraining orders against each other recently.

Gibson completed a stint in rehab following a 2006 DUI tirade in which he hurled anti-Semitic and sexist comments at the arresting police officers. Following his remarks, WME partner Ari Emanuel had expressed hostility toward Gibson, The Hollywood Reporter said. The actor later entered rehab for alcohol-related treatment and his conviction was expunged.

Gibson has six sons and a daughter with ex-wife Robyn Moore, to whom he was married for some 30 years and divorced in 2009, and Grigorieva has a son with another ex-boyfriend, James Bond star Timothy Dalton.

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