"I slapped Oksana with an open hand in an attempt to bring her back to reality", is what Mel Gibson admitted during his custody case with ex Oksana Grigorieva. Yet, the actor/nutter has somehow managed to avoid being locked up for hitting the Russian singer, which - not for the first time - doesn't say much for the US justice system. It's fine though, he was just bringing her back to reality. It was nothing, really.

Remember the entertainment/genuine fear Gibson brought us back in the summer when he officially lost the plot and treated us to a number of angry rants down the phone to Grigorieva? If you don't, then the words "you look like a f***ing pig in heat", "I am going to come and burn the house down... but you will blow me first", and "if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault" might trigger something in your memory.

Well, in January he was charged with spousal battery after hitting the mother of his child, Grigorieva, and leaving her with two broken dental veneers. Yesterday he pleaded no contest for his ever so slight misdemeanour, and his lawyer cut some kind of deal with the district attorney's office for him to avoid being put behind bars.

He doesn't need to be punished for thinking it's acceptable to attack a 40-year-old woman, does he? What kind of world would we live in if that were the case? And anyway, she was probably taking an undeserved rest from serving him meals and sucking him off. And that's just not on.

Instead, he faces 36 months of informal probation, one year of counselling and 16 hours of community service. Err, that'll teach him!