One of the thankless jobs of being a publicist is taking the fall for your clients. Understandably, some have to do it more often, and more publicly than others.

Such is the case with Mel Gibson‘s publicist, Alan Nierob. Gibson has been getting a bit of bad press after he called a WGN reporter an “asshole” during a recent interview promoting his upcoming film “Edge of Darkness.”

WGN’s Dean Richards pressed Gibson as to whether or not he was “a different person, a better person,” after a DUI and alleged anti-Semitic remarks made in 2006.

“That’s been almost four years, dude…I’ve moved on. But I guess you haven’t,” Gibson responded, clearly showing his frustration.

He then muttered the expletive at the end of the segment. Now, Nierob is trying to tow the line that Gibson was cursing at him for making faces during the interview, not at Richards.

“A star of his caliber, presumably with good PR people, should have been prepared with a simple response,” wrote Richards in a blog post. We agree, as it was a perfectly reasonable question, and one that Gibson and his PR team should have expected. What’s your take?