MEL GIBSON - GIBSON BLONDES DEFEND 'FRIENDLY' ACTOR

The two blondes photographed partying with MEL GIBSON just before his drink driving arrest insist the actor was in a friendly, happy mood, and had praised his wife ROBYN for being a "saint". Gibson was arrested last month (28JUL06) on a Malibu, California highway and made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting officer JAMES MEE, who is Jewish. JULIE SMITH, 27, and KIMBERLEY LESAK, 29, were drinking at Moonshadows bar in Malibu when the MAD MAX star walked in. The women claim Gibson was terrified his wife of 26 years would find out about his drunkenness and went to Moonshadows in a bid to 'sober up'. Smith says, "It was a Jekyll and Hyde transformation. He wasn't an angry drunk saying anti-Jewish things when we saw him." Levak adds, "He was being very friendly and you just kind of forgot he's this mega superstar. He floated around talking to everyone. We know now he was over the legal limit - but at that point he was not stumbling drunk." Later on, Levak claims, "He had his head in his hands and he was running his fingers through his hair saying, 'Oh no'. It was probably because he was thinking to himself, 'What am I doing here?' "That's proof that he's not belligerent. He stopped off to sober up - he was probably terrified about what his wife would say if he arrived home in that state. "Earlier I was talking with him about his family and his kids, not in detail, but he did say his wife was a saint. He was just trying to be a normal guy. I had no idea he was an alcoholic." Gibson is currently seeking treatment for his alcoholism in a rehabilitation clinic.