Jodie Foster has stuck up for Mel Gibson, claiming her fellow Oscar winning actor is not an anti-Semite.

It is widely accepted Gibson told police officers arresting him for drunk driving that, �The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.�

However, Foster has said that these comments only reflect the 50-year-old�s long-term battle with alcoholism, rather than his beliefs.

She tells the Los Angeles Times, �Is he an anti-Semite? Absolutely not. But it's no secret that he has always fought a terrible battle with alcoholism.

"I just wish I had been there, that I had been able to say, 'Don't do it, don't take that drink.�

�Mel is honest, loyal, kind, but alcoholism has been a lifelong struggle for him and his family.�

Gibson faces driving whilst under the influence charges following his arrest in Malibu in the early hours of the 28 July.