VIDEO: RadarOnline.com's David Perel Talks Mel Gibson Tapes On The View
Aug. 3 2010, Published 9:30 a.m. ET
The Mel Gibson obscene audio tapes have rocked Hollywood to its very core, and have been the subect of many a 'hot topic' on ABC's The View.
On Tuesday, the ladies of The View met the main man behind RadarOnline.com, Executive Vice President David Perel, who appeared in the New York studio of the ABC morning chat show to answer questions from Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck about the firestorm of controversy that ensued after the release of the tapes.
Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
Behar first asked Perel how RadarOnline.com obtained the tapes that by now, everyone has heard.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Oksana Pleads With Mel: 'Tell The Truth For The Sake Of Your Daughter'
"That's the question everybody asks," Perel said. "A lot of hard digging, good reporters, good editors and it took a long time."
Asked if RadarOnline.com forked over cash for the tapes, Perel responded, "No we have not, we have not paid for them ... no money has changed hands."
Perel said the Web site dug deep into the story, which started with restraining orders from both camps, and continued mushrooming as more details sprang forth.
Shepherd asked how we acquired the world exclusive interview with Oksana Grigorieva last week in the parking lot of a Southern California grocery store, to which Perel responded was the result of persistent efforts to interview the former girlfriend of Gibson.
EXCLUSIVE: Secret Mel Gibson Email, Tells Oksana: 'The Tranquillizers Only Make Me Nuts'
"Finally, we got her at the grocery store," Perel said. "Finally, and this is what you don't see, is that behind our Senior Executive Editor Dylan Howard, there's two cameramen trying to get in there, and he's keeping them out.”
Goldberg then asked Perel why the Web site published the sensitive information.
"Because it's a news story, because it's a celebrity that's involved in a criminal investigation,” Perel said. “This is reporting the news, that's what we do, this is an entertainment news Web site. We go out, we report stories and as you know, this was picked up by every major network.”
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When asked if he felt Grigorieva tried to set Gibson up, Perel said, “it doesn’t seem to be supported by the evidence.”
