Sean Penn

[Ginger]

This is a fabulous article[/color] - it's a roundtable discussion with all of the major gossip columnists in New York:

M.R.: Who's the most hateful celebrity you can think of?
Molloy: Sean Penn calls to yell at you even if you write something positive. . . . I had a friend that went to a small party at his house, and he was looking for the bathroom, and he opens the door, and there was Sean Penn lying horizontal with a woman who was not Robin Wright Penn. So we ran it.
Walls: He got upset about that?! Laughs.
Molloy: So he calls me up infuriated, and he kept saying, "I am a family man!"
Walls: Why didn't you think of that when you were shtupping that woman, huh!? Kill the messenger! Laughs.

(By the way, the rest of that article is fascinating too, even though it's old - they talk about an unnamed talk show host who might come out of the closet. Doesn't that seem like decades ago?)

Sean has his good qualities, but I adore Robin and feel bad for her that she ever married him. And she knew what he was like before she married him - she knew he was an alcoholic, she knew he had violent tendencies, she knew they argued all the time. So there must be something wrong with her too that she went for him & stayed with him for so long.

[JeanBean]

I'm surprised they lasted this long, but I'm under the impression they're both quagmires of emotional issues. I don't see this divorce being the thing that sets Robin free, or her career on fire.

And don't forget about his recent dalliance with Eve, which came unexpectedly to light when she was arrested for DUI while he was in the passenger seat.

ETA: Ginger, that's a great article!

[litzikohanovich]

In those pictures that mochakitty posted, Robin looks really good. For awhile, she looked exhausted. I agree that he gives off a rather creepy vibe. I also remember that story that he tied Madonna to a chair and another one where he sat on top of her for something like 6 hours. Don't quote me--it was a long time ago.

[Witchie]

Oh... I didn't realize he was in the car with her when she got busted. Damn.

[Deleted]

I don't feel much sympathy for RWP. As Ginger pointed out, she knew what she was when she married him. They'd dated for years before they had kids. She chose that douchenozzle, and now she'll get a big ass divorce settlement that will set her up for life. I think she married him to get that A-list status. Yeah, she had "Princess Bride" but she's no great actress. She was on the fast track to PrettyBlondeVille and no one lasts there for long; there's always another pretty blonde ready to take your place. Being Mrs. Sean Penn got her a ticket to every awards show, every film festival, every A-list party, and every private jet for the past 15 years.

And he got the family man image he needed to soften up his creepy psycho image. Win-win, and now return to your neutral corners.

[bklynred]

Dang. I liked the two of them together.

[ernestine]

I too have loved Robin since The Princess Bride. I've heard for years that he's a wife beater, but I have yet to see any evidence that it's true. Has he ever been arrested for it? Have the police ever been called? It makes me sick to think she'd allow him to abuse her, but I do get a creepy, angry vibe off of him. She's better off without him.

Hope he doesn't stalk and kill her...

[quickychick]

Cokehead or not, I have always thought she is one of the most beautiful women around. Yay for getting out of that one.

[Deleted]

ernestine said:

I too have loved Robin since The Princess Bride. I've heard for years that he's a wife beater, but I have yet to see any evidence that it's true. Has he ever been arrested for it? Have the police ever been called?

Yes, when he was married to Madonna he was charged with felony domestic assault.

I posted this quote from Wiki in Madonna's thread a while back.

On December 28, 1988, Madonna filed assault charges against Penn; media reports emerged that the actor had put his wife through physical abuse, including allegations that he'd tied her to a chair for several hours on New Year's Eve and that he had raped her. Neither party has ever addressed what happened that night and Madonna eventually withdraw the assault charges, though a song on her next album, "Till Death Do Us Part", led to speculation about the abuse reports.

[Ginger]

I think she married him to get that A-list status. Yeah, she had "Princess Bride" but she's no great actress. She was on the fast track to PrettyBlondeVille and no one lasts there for long; there's always another pretty blonde ready to take your place. Being Mrs. Sean Penn got her a ticket to every awards show, every film festival, every A-list party, and every private jet for the past 15 years.

All I've ever heard about Robin is that she could have had a big career and she intentionally chose to do those little (often bad) arthouse movies she does. I remember reading the list of movies she either turned down or declined to audition for, and it was stuff like Jurassic Park and the Batman movies. And she rarely accompanies Sean to events, so I don't see her as a big publicity hound. In fact, I believe it was her idea that they move out of Los Angeles to San Francisco, which severely limited her publicity potential and career opportunities.

I do not believe she has been using Sean to claw her way ahead in Hollywood--just the opposite.