New
York
(AIN):
The
Hangover
director
Todd
Philips
has
praised
Mel
Gibson
as
an
actor,
but
also
justified
the
reason
behind
axing
him
from
the
sequel
The
Hangover
2.
Entertainment
tonight
reported
that
Gibson
was
furious
at
producers
of
the
sequel
for
firing
him,
as
it
was
considered
as
his
Hollywood
comeback
following
a
legal
battle
with
ex-girlfriend
Oksana
Grigorieva,
who
alleges
he
assaulted
and
threatened
her.
Phillips
said
the
decision
to
fire
Gibson
was
the
result
of
protests
from
the
cast
and
crew.
“He"s
(Gibson)
one
of
our
finest
actors
and
quite
honestly,
one
of
our
finest
directors.
But
'The
Hangover
2'
is
a
family
and
as
much
as
I
loved
the
idea,
a
lot
of
people
didn"t.
I
didn't
want
anything
to
come
in
between
that
family," the
New
York
Post
quoted
Phillips
as
saying
at
the
14th
Annual
Hollywood
Awards.
Liam
Neeson
has
replaced
Gibson
in
The
Hangover
2
for
a
cameo
as
a
tattoo
artist.