Mel Gibson seen for the first time since his $14.5M Malibu mansion burned down in LA fires

Mel Gibson has been spotted for the first time since losing his home in the LA fires.

Mel was seen in the passenger seat of a female friend’s car, keeping a low profile wearing a baseball cap.

The movie star, 69, was filming podcast of Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas during the fires, and returned home to see his $14.5 million Malibu mansion burn down.

“I felt a little uneasy while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, ‘I wonder if my house is still there,'” he told NewsNation Thursday in a telephone interview.

Adding: ‘But when I got home, sure enough it wasn’t there.’

On Friday, his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed that Mel’s Malibu home of 14 years was “completely gone.”

Mel called his house “burned to perfection,” adding that he flew to Austin, Texas to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast as the “winds picked up.”

“It’s just something, but it’s obviously devastating. It’s emotional,” the Braveheart star said on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports.

On top of that, in a sense, he’s “relieved of the burden of my stuff because it’s all in cinders,” he said, laughing.

“I went home and said to myself, ‘Well, at least I don’t have any of those annoying sewage problems anymore,'” Mel told the outlet.

‘There were a dozen places that simply didn’t exist. I mean, nothing but a chimney and some roof tiles, and you don’t dare walk around for the nails and the whole deal. The vehicles were gone, everything,” he explained.

‘It was completely toasted. I’ve never seen such a complete burn. It’s like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it,” he claimed.

The actor and director said it was a “home” for him, adding that he “had a lot of personal items there” that he “can’t get back,” including photos, clothes and more.

However, despite his loss, Mel looked on the bright side, noting that things can be replaced and that he and his family are safe: “Those in my family and those I love are doing well and we are all happy and healthy and out danger. way.’

He was in Austin during the onset of the windy conditions and fire warnings, speaking with Joe Rogan on his podcast, and his partner Rosalind Ross was in Malibu.

The movie star said he was on a plane when the winds in LA started to pick up.

Elizabeth asked him what his plans were now, with the star joking if anyone wanted to buy the 5 hectares of land the house once sat on.

The Patriot star criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom during his Joe Rogan appearance.

“We were just talking about the wildfire situation and how crazy it is that they spent $24 billion on homelessness last year, and what they’re spending on preventing these wildfires,” Joe told Mel about the episode.

‘Zero. zip,” Mel replied.

“I think Newsom said in 2019, ‘I’m going to take care of the forest and maintain the forest,’ and do things like that. He didn’t do anything,” Mel added.

Mel also spoke with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, where he reflected on the tragedy.

“These are things and they may or may not be replaceable, but we’re still here and I just look at it in a strange way, like a purge,” he told the host.

When the actor heard about the fires, he said he rushed over to grab a few things with his son.

He revealed that they had their passports and important documents taken away.

“My son grabbed three things and ran, and they’re okay, things like passports and some papers….” [but] it’s tragic, it really makes you sad,” the father of nine said.

There are actually some neighbors that I have and I looked at them and I felt worse for them than I did for myself.”

‘I think of it as a strange mixture of sadness and almost a kind of elation in a way. I just count my blessings… it is what it is, I guess.”

The devastating fires in LA have burned more than 100,000 acres and killed 24 people.

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated due to the massive infernos – with the Palisades Fire being the largest ongoing fire and the Eaton Fire the second.

The AP reported that more than 12,000 buildings have been burned since then.

The outlet noted that the fire area is larger than the city of San Francisco.

The fires in LA started Tuesday morning amid strong Santa Ana winds that lashed the area.

A number of celebrity homes have been destroyed in the fires, including the home of Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Ana Faris, Jeff Bridges, Paris Hilton, Miles Teller, Jhene Aiko, Anthony Hopkins and more.