Sean Penn

[celebrityfly]

HAAATE. I hate his pretentious asshaterry self. Post Katrina he was down here with a film crew playing the hero, but I know people who were down here before he was working with whatever they could get their hands on to save lives. They report seeing him and some other celeb and said it was totally played up for the cameras what they did. The real heroes turned out to be coast guard and in areas that weren't flooded up to the rooftops homeless men from a local shelter actually busted their asses in boats to rescue many, many people and get them to safety. But Asshat Penn got accolades and media attention for his twenty minutes in an airboat.

Plus, he looks like he would smell of dirty feet at all times. Maybe he does, and that's why he and Robin always have such sour looks.

[Deleted]

Millions of Jews do a day long fast every year and still do normal things. A "rollover" strike is such a stupid idea and accomplishes nothing.

Not to mention that Dick Gregory goes on a hunger strike for everything. If he actually kept his strikes up he'd be dead by now. He went on a hunger strike because Michael Jackson was arrested, for God's sake.

Whenever I see Sean Penn I always remember the story from a gossip columnist about how she was at a party he was also at, and he was a total asshat, then when she went to a bedroom to get her coat she walked in on Sean banging a chick who was definitely not his wife. She wrote a BI about it and then Sean called her up and screamed at her or something.

[HotLips]

Mormons have a day of fasting once a month, I think.

There was an item on Gawker recently about Sean's bodyguard blocking the men's room at a club so no one could enter until Sean had finished his business.

[ladyboy]

I bet he made everyone wait until the smell faded, too.

[Deleted]

HAAATE. I hate his pretentious asshaterry self. Post Katrina he was down here with a film crew playing the hero, but I know people who were down here before he was working with whatever they could get their hands on to save lives. They report seeing him and some other celeb and said it was totally played up for the cameras what they did. The real heroes turned out to be coast guard and in areas that weren't flooded up to the rooftops homeless men from a local shelter actually busted their asses in boats to rescue many, many people and get them to safety. But Asshat Penn got accolades and media attention for his twenty minutes in an airboat.

I get your point, but I don't remember Penn getting much (if any) positive press for his little trip to New Orleans. Most major media outlets jumped on it as an example of Hollywood stars (or specifically Penn) making fools of themselves trying to help out after Katrina while still lugging around camera crews and press people. I actually was annoyed on his behalf because it seemed like a lot of media outlets were trying to present what he did in a negative light without even considering that he might have done some good.

I am not saying that he did any good, that he should have been down there, or that he should have been praised to the heavens for visiting New Orleans, but I do think that the media played up the "stupidity" of the action rather than the potential good it did. I mean, even if he helped only a few people, it is still helping...

[mariposalabrown]

I love him in Hurly-Burly. I hate the lack of sense of humor, but oh well. I will love him forever, though, because my great aunt was Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who worked at Angola on Death Row, and she wrote Dead Man Walking, and he demanded that she get to go to the Oscars, and she went, habit and all. I always loved this, and was straight up jealous of Sister Helen because she got to go before me, but I think I will go straight to hell if I say I was jealous, so pretend I didn't say that.

Susan Sarandon played her, which was a huge stretch, because I think Sister is around 90, but still. My family's one claim to fame.

ETA: I'm totally lame that I have been waiting for a thread about him to tell this story, but I wasn't about to start it myself!

She had only kind things to say about him when I grilled her when I was younger, but I don't think anyone could be anything but respectable toward a nun. So for people that like him because of his convictions, there are true through and through. My nun Great-Aunt went to the Oscars because of him.

[ladytimka]

To me, Sean Penn's acting has improved other the years. I still watch Bad Boys (1983) and Dead Man Walking (1995). I like him for his acting and good heart. He appears to really care about his causes and does every thing he can to support them. I was happy to see someone with money and a boat try to help hurricane victims.

[incognito]

Dude, I once fasted for an entire day in middle school (extra credit for history class; we were covering different ethnic and religious traditions, including Ramadan). All it caused back then was some very mild discomfort. Heck, if we're going to go by the "from sun up till sun down" idea of fasting, I go without all the friggin' time (due more to my wonky eating habits than out of any serious conviction). Hunger strikes are supposed to deal with the sacrifice you're willing to make for your beliefs. Going without food for one day? Yeah, whatever. My thirteen-year-old, extra-credit-chasing, water-drinking-only self salutes you, Mr. Penn.

[Wol]

mariposalabrown, that is a fantastic claim to fame! Sister Helen Prejean sounds like the best kind of badass. I mean that as a compliment. I seem to remember she did some press when the film came out - do you recall? The woman I am thinking of had short dark hair and wore glasses and was totally no bullshit.

[Deleted]

mariposalabrown said:

I love him in Hurly-Burly. I hate the lack of sense of humor, but oh well. I will love him forever, though, because my great aunt was Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who worked at Angola on Death Row, and she wrote Dead Man Walking, and he demanded that she get to go to the Oscars, and she went, habit and all. I always loved this, and was straight up jealous of Sister Helen because she got to go before me, but I think I will go straight to hell if I say I was jealous, so pretend I didn't say that.

Susan Sarandon played her, which was a huge stretch, because I think Sister is around 90, but still. My family's one claim to fame.

ETA: I'm totally lame that I have been waiting for a thread about him to tell this story, but I wasn't about to start it myself!

It's a great story and thank you for telling it! I read Dead Man Walking before seeing the film and had nothing but respect and admiration for Sister Helen's calling.

As for Sean, I love him (except for "Sam I Am" which was appalling) but am baffled by his continued lack of interest in developing a sense of humor. I think his heart is in the right place for the causes he supports, but that his methods of achieving his goals are often ham-fisted.