Mel Gibson checked into rehab yesterday as his rep hinted at the star’s uphill battle, saying, “The guy is trying to stay alive.”

After spewing anti-Semitic comments and cursing a cop when he was arrested for drunken driving last week, the “Lethal Weapon” actor has begun “participating in an ongoing program to deal with this,” publicist Alan Nierob said. He declined to detail Gibson’s treatment or reveal where he was receiving it.

News of Gibson’s rehab stint came as In Touch Weekly photos surfaced, capturing Gibson’s passion for booze and blondes just hours before his arrest in Malibu, Calif.

The bleary-eyed star was spotted at celeb-studded Moonshadows restaurant with a babe on each arm and a beer bottle in his right hand late Thursday and into the wee hours Friday.

Revelers said Gibson admitted that he had been downing wine at a dinner party earlier Thursday.

He then readily chatted with fans about everything from his movies to religion to his seven kids – and even called his wife of 26 years, Robyn, “a saint.”

“Mel had bloodshot eyes and looked drunk,” Todd Hausberger, 29, of Phoenix told In Touch. “He was slurring his words.”

At one point, Gibson switched to drinking water and put his head in his hands, saying, “I am drunk,” recalled Kimberly Lesak, 29, of Louisville, Ky.

At 2 a.m., Gibson – who reinvented himself as a producer and director with the controversial mega-hit “The Passion of the Christ” – then decided it was time to head home, the mag said.

“We all offered him rides, and he shrugged it off,” Lesak said.

Hausberger said he urged the star, who lives a few miles away, not to drive, but that Gibson responded:

“No, I’m fine. I’ll take care of myself.”

A Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy busted the Road Warrior in his 2006 Lexus going 87 mph in a 45 mph zone, shortly after 2:30 a.m. Friday. A bottle of tequila was found in his car.

Gibson tested at an 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level, cops said. California law considers drivers at 0.08 percent to be impaired.

Gibson, 50, has apologized for making “despicable” remarks during his arrest, during which he allegedly said, “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” before asking arresting Deputy James Mee, “Are you a Jew?”

A leaked sheriff’s report showed Gibson was originally cooperative and fearful about his impending arrest, blurting out, “My life is f- – -ed.”

But the actor soon turned combative. He threatened the arresting cop that he’d “get even with me,” the deputy said.

“I’m going to f- – – you. You’re going to regret you ever did this to me,” the actor allegedly told deputies. That’s when Gibson allegedly let loose with a series of anti-Semitic slurs, ripping the “f- – -ing Jews.”

Mee yesterday said he hopes Gibson gets the help he needs.

“I don’t take pride in hurting Mr. Gibson,” said Mee, who is Jewish.

“What I had hoped out of this is that he would think twice before he gets behind the wheel of a car and was drinking. . . . I don’t want to ruin his career. I don’t want to defame him in any way or hurt him.”

As for Gibson’s anti-Semitic rant, Mee dismissed it as “booze talking.”

“There’s two things that booze does. It amplifies your personality . . . If you are a high-strung person, it’s going to amplify that, and all the bad things are going to come out.”

Mee, a 17-year veteran of the force, said he considers the bust routine.

“I guess I’m a little naive, because all the other deputies who came into the station that morning, they were taken by his celebrity,” he said.

The celebrity news Web site http://www.tmz.com reported that Gibson has been pulled over twice in Malibu over the past three years and was not cited either time.

During a traffic stop three years ago, a deputy suspected Gibson might have been impaired but let him go anyway, the report said.

Sheriff’s officials denied Gibson’s received any preferential treatment – but are still conducting an internal review to determine if deputies ever pulled over the actor, or cut him slack.

Gibson once filmed a public service announcement for the L.A. Sheriff’s Department, dressed in a sheriff’s uniform.

‘”He has no prior record,” said Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. “We have done our job.”

Whitmore acknowledged that Gibson’s name might not be in any police reports, if deputies didn’t arrest him.

“The hope is not [that Gibson received any star treatment],” Whitmore said. “Our job is to treat everyone equally, regardless of race, class or celebrity.”

The Oscar winner is free on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in a Malibu courtroom Sept. 28.

Additional reporting by Michael Starr and AP

—

Cursed

Statement made by Mel Gibson, according to an arrest report. The star recently shot an ad for the L.A. Sheriff’s Department (right):

The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world . . . Are you a Jew?

I’m going to f–k you. You’re going to regret you ever did his to me.

My life is f—-d.

Source: TMZ.com