Yesterday I posed the question as to what exactly gorgeous model Petra Nemcova, 32, had in common with her on-again crusty sourpuss lover, Sean Penn, 51. A commenter named K schooled me that they “share a common passion for charity work,” which is true and could partially explain it. The general consensus was that Penn has charisma and is good in bed, however.
As for shared interests, here are both Petra and Sean at a photocall in Cannes for a new fundraising event this year, co-hosted by Georgio Armani and Penn, called Haiti Carnaval. Proceeds will go to three charities founded by Penn, Nemcova, and director Paul Haggis: Penn’s The J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Nemcova’s Happy Hearts Fund and Haggis’ Artists for Peace and Justice, which was on the ground in Haiti prior to the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Penn was on the Cannes jury last year, and his influence was undoubtedly instrumental in help making this new fundraiser happen. Like most of Sean’s endeavors, a press conference held today for the event didn’t go off without a hitch. Sean used the F word while describing his frustration at the lack of continued support for Haiti. He has previously called other relief workers dispassionate, and has of course publicly bitched about many other things. It’s not new from him, nor is it particularly shocking. He deserves so much credit for his charity work, but he seems to think other people deserve blame.
Sean Penn accused the media of abandoning Haiti on Friday during a news conference for a benefit for the impoverished country.
“It’s not only celebrities who went for a day,” he said to a room full of journalists at the Cannes film festival. “It’s the whole f#$*ing world. It’s all of you.”
He added, “The reason we have Haiti fatigue is because there was never a commitment in the first place.”
The activist-actor, who spends much of his time in Haiti, said the country finally had a chance to reestablish itself after decades of turmoil. He said that because of the commitment among young people, “You see the very tangible success story that Haiti can be.”
Penn was at a news conference with Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova and film director Paul Haggis, each of whom have non-profit organizations working in Haiti. They are joining forces with the Cannes Film Festival at a benefit for Haiti on Friday night.
[From Yahoo.com]
I get it. He’s seen things we can’t imagine while we’re sitting on our comfortable couches enjoying his movies on demand and stuffing our faces. He’s experienced countless frustrating circumstances trying to get basic supplies to people in dire need while he’s been working on the ground for months. Would it kill him to frame it in a less accusatory way, though? It’s not like people don’t care.
I was looking over Petra’s website for Happy Hearts Fund, and she has a video in which she says essentially the same thing as Penn – but in a more compassionate, compelling way. As you probably know, Petra survived the 2004 tsunami that claimed the life of her fiance, whom she was vacationing with at the time. Her charity work comes from a very genuine and personal place. In the video I mentioned, she said she has “in her heart a thought. ‘What would it be like if I was forgotten after a natural disaster?’ That’s what it’s like each time after a natural disaster, there’s an incredible outpouring of support… and when the first responders leave the world’s attention is turned to other issues. And then a gap happens, a gap which takes up to 10 years when children and entire communities are forgotten. During that gap period, children are skipped from education, sometimes an entire generation… that leads to extreme poverty. That’s what we are focusing on.”
That to me, is way more convincing and makes me want to donate more than hearing that I suck for abandoning a cause. It makes me think of the little kids who are suffering and how I can help make a difference. It’s not as easy to filter down into a quote, though. Maybe Petra is really good for Sean. Maybe she’ll help him realize why he’s doing charity work, and what he should focus on.
Here they are at the photo op today. I think Petra looks amazing in that lovely blue faux wraparound dress. I would love to own that, it looks like it would flatter non-model types. Her hair looks great too. Sean looks really greasy and smarmy. The stache needs to go.
Oh and Paul Haggis is here. It just came out that he’s divorcing his wife, although they seem to have split up a couple of years ago. I wonder if it had anything to do with Scientology, which he denounced in late 2009.
The other woman shown is Roberta Armani. It looks like Petra and Sean deliberately avoided posing together.
Photo credit: WENN.com
The little bit I know about Haiti is that the little people have not received the help they need because the government is so corrupt that the government and its people have kept the money for themselves – this does not necessarily mean that the world has forgotten haiti – the world tried and got duped by the haitian government.
Yes, I think that massive corruption is at the heart of the Haiti’s troubles (and world’s apathy towards the fate of Haiti.)
Nevertheless, I really respect Sean for doing something so valuable with his life. I wish more celebs, (i.e. rich people, capable of influencing public opinion) would do that on a consistent basis.
Seriously, Sean Penn spends half his time in Malibu, then on fabulous movie sites with the comforts of home, and the rest of the time traveling the world to accept awards for his work in Haiti while being put up in deluxe hotels. He isn’t not walking the daily walk the people of Haiti do. Don’t kid yourself.
dusty, I don’t know much about Sean Penn but it was widely reported that he relocated to Haiti, and spent there significant part of the past 2(?) years or so. I do believe that even in Haiti he probably stayed in better hotels, however, it’s still an effort, kind intentions and good example. I did not do it, so I respect him for doing it.
yes, he is remembering Haiti on a yacht in CANNES, what a hypocrite! I’m sick of these celebs wearing thousand dollar shoes and clothing that could save a small country telling us hard working people we don’t care! How does he know how we feel?????!!!!!!!
Deluxe hotels in a country almost flattened by the earthquake??
Read this:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/39313/1
or read the Vanity Fair article:
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/06/hunkered-down-in-haiti-with-sean-penn-humanitarian
I believe a midlife crisis is what started him on this journey but I admire his efforts.
In response to the people attacking his standard of living:
it is better that he live in deluxe hotels and do some charity work,
than live an average lifestyle like us, and sit in front of a monitor and type about others doing nothing at all.
It is NOT hypocritical, for him to still be rich, still be famous, YET to do charity work.
What help would it be, for him to also be poor, homeless? Does that HELP the people?
No, it doesnt, and why should it?
He is doing his part even just by mentioning Haiti to the press which is otherwise occuppied with kartrashian etc, which is more than the average person who also is poor, has done or even CAN do, if they wanted to.
Im not being righteous, because I also have done nothing. But, it makes no sense to attack his standard of living, in this situation, unless it is pure jealousy.
I don’t know if this is true, but apparently big organizations like UNICEF, hardly give 10% of all contributions to those intended. The first apparent cause are “Administrative Fees” to bankroll the organization, but more accurately translated into power struggles within those charity orgs.
It is the same with the numerous cancer awareness: How much more would truly go to help and research if only ONE org was dedicated to breast cancer? Not the registered over 100 in the US alone?
Nope, your percentage allocation is very skewed. That part I know for sure 😉 Things are not that bad by far.
that is a friggin lie. i actually work for unicef and i can’t tell you how gullible people are to believe some of this crap.
the pres/ceo has at her disposal 24/7 a bentley/rolls (it varies);
she receives a million dollar salary (uh, no);
10/15/13 percent of funds go to program work (uh, hell no)
before you speak about things you know nothing about, please consult charity navigator that reviews the financials and programs of non-profits and rates their program/fundraising/administration costs.
and, there is always snopes.
@e.non, Please read again how my question was formulated, and how far from aggressive it was.
Your answer gives more crediT to the fact that UNICEF employs bullies, with political agendas that have nothing to do with human decency.
Look at nina’s answer, and how polite it was. Instead of abrasive negative comments, how about you give us some credible UNBIASED information. If you happen to have any.
maybe you should consider the harm done to these organizations and the people who work there by the smears spread by those who can’t bother to research their claims.
e.non- I agree with maquita. The way you stated your point was very hostile and definetly did not fit the tone of m. initial comment which was stated in a questioning format. You can make your point and possibly enlighten people about your organization without insulting them. Otherwise, you just like defensive and that you have something to hide. Think about it.
Btw, I believe strongly in peace, love and charity.
Thank you NYCGAL, that was very kind of you.
My QUESTION, was actually in regards to heavy rumors that the Mafia had a hand in some of the UNICEF effort reliefs. That there was questionable fund allocations, etc. in the 90s mostly. And around that time, it was discovered that outrageous amounts of contributions were actually misused for “administrative fees”, i.e. astronomical direct and indirect salary benefits for UNICEF higher-uppers.
Maybe @Nina could kindly give the lowdown on this? She seems to be far more knowledgeable on the subject!
Awe, thanks Maguita!
Yeah. It has to be next to impossible to get anything done there with such lawlessness.
Some of the problems are not only things you wouldn’t think of, but also insanely frustrating for people trying to help and the Haitians themselves. Like erosion, for example. The Haitian people cut down the trees to use, and then the soil washes away, and they can’t grow anything. And you help everyone plant fast-growing new trees that will hold the soil for fields that could feed many, then come back in a few years and find that the trees did grow nicely–until someone cut them down again to build a cooking fire.
I can only imagine how much worse it gets in the city when you’ve got the corrupt government to deal with plus ridiculous accidents and mistakes, like UN Aid workers tracking dysentery into the water supply on dirty boots.
But yeah, Sean Penn is a douche. Why was Princess Buttercup married to him for so long?
Yes, the lawlessness seems to be just as big an obstacle as the rampant corruption, if not more so. One of the saddest stories I’ve heard about this country with many sad stories is about the female medics, midwives, aid workers, etc. who have been forced to abandon post for fear of being raped, or because they were assaulted while trying to help.
Maybe Penn should direct his anger at the billions of dollars donated that have yet to be distributed? Unlike Penn, we aren’t all able to go down there (or every other place that needs aid) to manually do what needs to be done and many of us, after donating what we could, are directing our donations to other charities/issues that also need our attention. Despite the plethora of distasters, both natural and greedily man made, many of us continue to donate to worthwhile charities despite donor fatigue and our own precarious financial situations. It’s very easy for Penn to stand in judgment of the “whole effing world” because he’s focused solely on Haiti but how would he take it if someone who’s focus is on another region/disaster lashed out at him for abandoning that need?
This is the best and most succinct observation of the entire post. Well said.
Cosign! I’d also like to add that for some of us, scraping to get by, it’s hard to just make sure that the little ones in our own lives are fed and clothed and housed as safely as can be. I certainly would love to do more, and wish that I had the resources to more.
The work that Penn has done is commendable, but at the same time, not the most intelligent way that he could phrase the fact that quite simply ‘these people need help’. Ms. Nemkova, is not only a survivor, but a true lady and inspiration, with far more compassionate words.
Finally, I’ve been quite impressed with the relief work that actor Paul Walker has put in, not only in Haiti, but other disaster areas with his own relief effort organization, which you can see at this link
http://www.roww.org/
Here’s an organization that is actually bringing together the most qualified people, to go into areas ravaged by natural disasters and do their best to help others when they need it most. There’s a volunteer section on the site that allows those qualified with the proper training to sign up and actually help in the best way they can, in the heart of the problem. IMO it seems like a wonderful way to keep people involved.
And one of the strongest messages that Mr. Walker has expressed has been simply, ‘Be good to eachother.’
Amen to all of that. We haven’t abandoned Haiti, we’re just sick to death of having our donations squandered or stolen. One need only to look back on what the American Red Cross did in the wake of 9-11 to know how these “charities” enrich themselves and the truly needy are lucky if a fraction of the donations trickle down to them at some point.
I agree whole heartedly. I find him to be such an insufferable douchebag I can’t begin to formulate a reasonable responce. Some of us work minimum wage jobs and we donate what we can and that’s it. Yeah Haiti was forgotten but that’s because there are about another billion people that need help. You do what you can for who you can.
Is Penn is a short man
Like Penn had said about himself: He’s a great humanitarian, but a sh-t with human relations.
The man admits his empathy to the Haitian people, but in the same breath, also admits to being truly bad at human relationships. And this here, is the perfect example.
Also, why do we corner people into one dimension? John Travolta is a sexual predator, but a great father and loving husband (in a non-conventional way). Sean Penn is a great humanitarian, but a sh-tty bastard in the same breath as well.
Human being = multi-dimensional. Although most of us thrive on getting better in relationships with age, not worse.
Good insight. I agree with you. And reading above just figured out what they do have in common. She survived one of the worst natural disasters ever, and he’s trying to help victims of another. Durrr!!! Sometimes I’m a bit dense.
You are so right Maguita. He really is very interesting, this Sean Penn – troubled, kind, f-cked up, talented, determined – there is a lot going on there…Interesting and deep, such a rare commodity.
+1
Thank you Ladies.
He was a sh-tty husband, and from all accounts, a bastard to women (heard the one where he got punched by Liev Schriber for harassing his wife during filming?). But he does take to heart any philanthropic endeavors, whether it’s Haiti, feeding third-world populace, and pushing for more important American Government donations.
The problem with Sean, is and has always been, his temper. It always translates into pathological hatred. As the listener, the heated emotions spewing from his mouth tend to block the words, therefore the message, and have you concentrate on the feeling of rage instead.
Same during interviews, in regards to Haiti, the few I’ve seen, he had spent his time talking about himself, and blaming others, that time runs out and the cause gets no real time.
Spicoli is a mental case.
The truth is that people are bombarded on a daily basis about the numerous causes that deserve attention, on top of people having to deal with their own struggle in this crap economy.
Maybe if people are forgetting about Haiti is in part due to people like Sean Penn who do a crappy job at remind us of it?
I think it’s easy to get defensive and then throw up your hands and not do something. That’s the American way. Bastard being the bandleader or no, these people still need help.
Accountability is a very serious problem, not just with donations to Haiti, but to countries in Africa which desperately need food and medicine–because the West does care and tries to provide it through direct donations and money–but too often their government systems are such a mess (dictatorships, the military essentially in control, civil war, or just terribly corrupt), that money donated for people in need ends up going to pay the military or provide more weapons, or build a palace, etc.
It’s easy for (celebrities especially) to get on a high horse and say ‘send money’ ‘provide help’, but how do you do that if the help you send doesn’t get to those who need it? Start a war???
So true!
That’s basically why we stopped sending money to North Korea (many of whose people are starving to death) for help because the government took it and it never made it to the people who need the relief. It’s really hard to help people who are struggling when you can’t tell if the help you’re sending is actually reaching them. I’d love nothing more than to help the starving people in N. Korea, Africa and Haiti, but you’re right, the accountability issue is huge.
the world has abandoned many places and i think the reasons why are complex.
i get why he is mad, but i’m not convinced his bouts of anger ever really help to make change. maybe it just alienates people. but, he tries and i give him credit for that.
also, his movie ‘milk’ was an important one and i thought his oscar speech was moving…i can give him a pass on this one.
While I understand you can get more flies with honey than vinegar, I don’t see how people can say his approach isn’t helpful. Petra’s approach, while lovely, was IGNORED by media until Penn’s rant put focus on it.
In fact, the only reason Haiti is on this site today is because of Sean Penn being blunt, direct, and a bit rude.
i’m not convinced lashing out is the best avenue for long term change.
it shines a light on an issue, which is important, but it may not motivate others to the level that is needed for fundamental change.
however, i am a fan, regardless.
I had the same thought as you, Tiffany, initially. But then I wondered how many people would run out to find a website so they could donate to Haiti because of his comments. Few, if any, I think. It’s a good thing Celebitchy went out to Petra’s website, but I don’t know if many others would go the extra mile for Sean Penn.
You have to keep in mind this isn’t Penn’s first attempt to draw attention to Haiti by a long shot, not his only tactic. He has spent a lot of the past couple years living there. He has done interviews with Anderson Cooper, Charlie Rose, Oprah, even Fox News trying to direct people’s attention to how desperately dire the situation is there.
I saw an interview with him there about 6 months ago, and he seemed incredibly informed and concerned about the situation there. If he was ranting about something petty like fashion or which films made it into a festival, I could see people being outraged at him. He’s speaking the hard truth, IMO.
@Tiffany, I’m sure he is informed and since you follow him, you know about those other interviews but others will only see this one comment and not bother to look further. It’s not because they don’t care about people in Haiti, it’s because everyone has their own projects and charities that are dear to them and if Haiti isn’t already one, this comment is not going to sway them towards it. He may be speaking the hard truth about Haiti, but I know people who speak the hard truth about New Orleans, and those in the Peace Corps that have done missions to Africa- they can speak some hard truths, and domestically, there’s charities for Violence against women, child abuse, hunger, etc. He comes across here as someone who is saying if you don’t support HIS pet project, then you’re a piece of crap. People may be giving to charities but just not to Haiti regularly, and having a rich, smug celebrity throwing in regular people’s faces that they aren’t giving enough to what HE thinks they should give to, isn’t going to help Haiti.
I understand your points Jordan, but I think as Americans, since we are so very close to Haiti and their situation is so extremely dire I would think that would warrant more action on our part.
And for the record, I don’t follow Sean Penn, I just happen to be watching a show where an interview came on with him in it. I think that he is doing this in Cannes now, in front of tons of press and millionaires, because he is sincere in his desire to help people that are dying.
STFU Sean Penn, your narcissism is showing.
Well Mr Penn, we did abandon Haiti because we donated all we could then worked harder to try and survive day to day through this global recession.
Obviously you didn’t donate enough to hurt your lifestyle of private jets, 5 star luxury, Amarni suits and whizzing around the world, still spouting your uneducated mouth off.
+ 1
He has spent large parts of the past few years LIVING in Haiti, so yes, I would say it has impacted his life quite a bit.
It SHOULD have impacted his life, yet here he is living the high life preaching that everyone else should do more, give more, but I don’t see him giving until it hurts.
Also out of the $12 billion which was donated worldwide only 43% has been used. Where is the rest? Maybe he shouldn’t expect people to pay more when over $6 billion is still missing or not spent. Haiti was one of the poorest countries in the world. It takes time to rebuild. If they have run out of money, he should be more concerned over where the flick it went. And I bet he wasn’t staying in the refugee camps 😉
Have another glass of bubbly Sean!
Smeg, from what I have seen he HAS been staying in refugee camps. I dont think he is only talking about money, there needs to be ORGANIZATION from the international community to make progress. One of the major aspects he has been focused on are things like plumbing that take disease ridden substances away from areas where people get their drinking water.
As I mentioned above, he has done interviews with Anderson Cooper, Charlie Rose, Oprah, Fox News, etc. in order to get the message out there. I think the snark directed at him comes more in regards to thoughts about his OTHER comments/activities…and not that he is actually wrong in this case.
A quick internet search shows him out and about in a bunch of places that aren’t Haiti. He didn’t live there for years or even months. However, I do remember him and Scarlett taking a private jet to Mexico and returning the very next day.
There are 365 days in a year. A two day trip with ScarJo to Mexico proves nothing.
No, he wasn’t staying in the displacement camps, he makes out he was living in a tent like the others, but he was staying in a house nearby. The area where his displacement camp is situated was in an affluent area, so his house was probably pretty nice. And it was never “his” displacement camp in the first place as media reports are suggesting. It was a camp already set up and now he helps run it.
I don’t mind his compassion or his organisational skills in helping the people in Haiti, but to blame the general public and media (which are always printing articles about it) is just not on.
If he was actually talking about the Politicians or Organisations of ignoring or not being committed, then there are ways and means of raising the subject directly with them; but saying the whole world F’ing abandoned Haiti and were never committed just shows how out of touch he is with the rest of the world
I cant take this man seriously. Sure he is helping Haiti….but…..there is an agenda for him. How you treat people i.e. The women in his life says more to me than what he is doing in Haiti. I am glad he is helping them and has the resources. But, he treats women like shi*. End of story.
+1 Kudos to him for his humanitarian efforts and his fine acting, but I will never be intrigued or impressed by Sean Penn the man.
I wonder how he speaks to Haitians. If I were a Haitian woman, I wouldn’t want him near me.
I think there might be a baby announcement soon.
Good call MBR! From a BI earlier in the week . . . . Kinda fits 😉
Does he even watch the news, the whole world is in financial jeapardy, if he wants to be mad at people it should be his friends hanging out with him on privates planes and drinking fancy champagne in Cannes. I’m sick of these celebrities begging for money for their charities when they have more than enough to help their causes.If you want to tell me about a crisis in another country great, but don’t ask me for money while you own planes and mansions. i don’t have a lot but I give locally at least once a month.
I agree, it’s like he is assuming we are all greedy, unfeeling people and only he is doing something. I give locally, it comes out every paycheck to charities of my choice, and I give when disasters strike but I don’t have unlimited funds that I can just keep giving until I’m homeless and in need myself. His comment only makes people defensive.
STFU Sean Penn! You are a clueless unedcuated ACTOR! After having worked in the social services sector here in Canada, I can completely understand how the Haitian relief workers would become dispassionate. After a while, you become so desensitizied to the crap you witness and deal with every day, that in order to keep your sanity, you actually have to stop CARING (to a certain extent). I’m sure they are like him – they see that nothing is being done there and become dispassionate because of that.
And not only that, he should look at his own country for crying out loud. How many children in the US are under-fed and under-educated??? You can go to every single country around the world and find some form of poverty occurring. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to feel the same way he does. Many people think – why is it our problem to help these people out? At what point do we stop helping the, and they start to help themselves? Especially in Haiti – how many of these people are actually helping THEMSELVES out?
Sean Penn, you are a douche extrodinaire.
+1
Why is Sean “douche extrodinaire”? I completely don’t get your point…Have you ever been to Haiti? Do you even realize the level of poverty and lack of resources after the devastating disaster? Yes, there are plenty of suckers, who live off the Canadian and American social security systems but I think it’s pointless to compare them to the situation in the Haiti…
I mean Sean is not a messiah but why is he a douche?
He’s a douche for the way he treats women, how he presents himself to the media, and how he treats others in general. I realize tabloids like to portray certain celebrities in a bad light to gain more readers etc, but when have you ever read anything good about Sean Penn?
And obviously I know what the situation is like in Haiti (I have a poli sci degree), or else I would never have commented on this story. I realize that hundreds of thousands of people are still living in abject poverty in camps, where there is lack of clean water and women are raped due to lack of security. But at a certain point, with the corruption that goes on there (and I realize it has a lot to do with the government there), it becomes harder to feel empathy. Am I supposed to feel sorry for these men who live in the camps, but think it is okay to rape the women and girls there? Am I supposed to feel sorry for a lot of these people when they after all these years, they themselves could try and do something to help themselves out? And I don’t believe the excuse, they are so poor, they have nothing. At a certain point, you would think they would try and do something for themselves. But who knows, maybe that is the culture that is there, to not help themselves. Does this mean I have no empathy? No it doesn’t. But people like Sean Penn need to realize there is more to the situation than just throwing money at it.
I also did not compate the people in Haiti to people living on social assistance in North America. I said that I understand as a former social sector worker how easy it is to become dispassionate when dealing with people day in and day out who live in extreme poverty (and yes, there are people in Canada and the US who live in extreme poverty).
whenever there is a posting about this guy, i always see comments about how badly he treats women. what has he done? i am genuinely curious (not being snarky at all).
@Jackie, they might be referring to when he was arrested & convicted for domestic assault against Madonna when they were married.
wow. didn’t know. how awful. i guess i am not such a fan anymore.
@Jackie, I don’t know of any violence against women since that, but I could be wrong. That’s just the one I know about. I still think he has a temper though.
@ Jackie and @ Jordan
These days madonna and penn are regularly seen having quite friendly lunches. If she was able to forgive him, then I don’t see why someone else necessarily needs to hold grunges against him. You never know what’s going on behind the closed door…
+ 1 x’s 100,000,000…thank you. I was thinking the same thing. What about all of our problems rght here in our own country. What about all of the homeless families forclosed upon while the banksters had RECORD bonuses??? Why isent he calling out the banks and politicians?? Id like to see more of his fire and harsh words reserved for them. THAT would be refreshing. Yes, we all love Haiti and Hatians but right now the US is still reeling from being decimated by the rich in power. No ones in a donating mood right now, were all struggling…..wake up and smell the unemployed coffee.
Sean seems emotionally immature. Okay it’s great the work he’s doing but ofcourse he has to turn that into a reason to blast everyone else for not doing the same work as him. Many are unable to because we’re struggling over here. I gave my 60 dollars to Haiti and that was all I could do. He’s not encouraging people to help with his attitude. Behaving this way in public only draws attention to himself and what he’s doing.
I respect the fact that he does charitable work however, making people feel about an inch tall while you tower over them with your self-righteousness is not the way to go about getting help for your cause. I have donated to many causes only to find out later that very little of the money I donated actually went to help that people it should. So I am, pardon the phrase, gun shy to send more to anybody.
Can you blame him? It’s the only way he gets to tower over anyone.
ha ha ha, thanks for that..
Beat me to it.
LOL!
i almost hate myself for bringing this to your attention, but i can’t unsee the vulva in petra’s armpit.
I had to recheck the pic. Yep that’s definitely a Volvo under there. How did she fit a Volvo in her arm pit? Vulva? Oh. Never mind.
I think Sean Penn has earned the right to share his frustration. His efforts have been unwavering and he cares little for the favorable press he could curry as a result of his passionate service….how refreshing!
In this culture of “look at me and my good deeds”
Penn will have none of this..
So go ahead Sean……”TESTIFY”
The whole world.. has the billions charity money and they aren’t parting with it.. neither are you..
Speaking as someone who knows some Haitian aid workers, I’m expecting some ripostes about how much of a colossal bell-end he was while there.
While I admire Mr. Penn’s efforts in Haiti, I’m left wondering if he cares for the people struggeling here in the USA? Our citizens have lost jobs, homes, a chance at a higher education due to rising tuition and decreased grants, lives due to the horrible state of our Medical system and it only seems to be getting worse. Please focus on your own backyard before you bemoan the fate of the world.
He thinks we are all rich like him and should all be donating only to his pet cause because only he knows what is right.
I’ve never understood this sentiment. Suffering is suffering. Whatever you think of the guy, he’s done much more humanitarian work than I’ve managed to pull off–for my country or any other country. In North America it is an absolute sport to tell people they’re helping incorrectly and there’s nothing stopping North Americans from doing more for the continent and nothing gets done through shaming straners alone. It has always struck me as kind of cynical that consideration of domestic strife only comes about when it’s politically expedient.
The pain of our immediate neighbours is only noble enough to hold over until the next news cycle, it always curdles quickly and about four nanoseconds spent on camera expressing friendly ‘concern’, it’s right back to demonizing the underclass. ‘Well, I have to go to work to pay my bills and I would LOVE to have the free time devoted to sitting on my ass all day. The ditch is rent-free, why do you need my money? I’m so tired of this war on affluence.’
My ambivalence about him leads me paraphrase Toscanini’s thoughts on Richard Strauss: To Penn the humanitarian, I take off my hat. To Penn the man, I put it back on.
Correction: Paul Haggis is a screenwriter (Crash, Casino Royale, Million Dollar Baby). I don’t believe he has ever directed anything…?
EDIT: Oh wait-my bad. I checked IMDB and he has directed a couple things. He’s still known primarily for being a screenwriter though 🙂
I admire Penn’s passion but I can’t stand his pretentiousness. As others have said, you just alientate people from your cause by acting like an arrogant a-hole.
Also, C/B- I think Haggis’s divorce might not be related to his denouncement of scientology. From what I’ve read, he’s a self-proclaimed “shitty husband”. Interesting guy though.
Uhhhh what? Why is this here?
He’s right.
Um, yeah…he said that OUTSIDE Haiti, right? Outside his lovely no doubt five star hotel, yes? Just wondering.
Exactly!
Sean, get your millionaire buddies to pony up. The average has enough to deal with now thanks to Coconut Head.
When he says The World not sure if he means Governments or PEOPLE. because average people have given and have volunteered. My nieces school collected cloths and school supplies and water to send. So did hundreds of other schools. I think when such horrible things happen it is hard to keep up. Especially when there are more than one.
Many people have charities and organizations they support on a regular basis. They give what they can and when. I think his outrage is at the wrong people. The International community is the place to look. But Haiti was in such bad shape anyway. And as a Country they need total support. They have to build from the ground up. And that needs the help of governments.
“when such horrible things happen it is hard to keep up. Especially when there are more than one.”
@Lisa – My sentiments as well. There are so many people in need, every day, all the time – you’ll never run out of charities you could give to, so most of us just end up picking a few that resonate with them.
And I think Petra’s quote in this article is a focused statement of what she wants to accomplish in that very specific area. (And, for me, that resonates far more than Sean Penn’s typical angry outburst of ‘OMG, you’re doing it wrong!’)
But when it comes to the whole wide world, there are a string of disasters every year. That international outpouring of support is a good thing, and it’s generally driven by average people wanting to give and do something. But it is in response to a specific event – and there’s always another disaster around the corner. Are we not supposed to pay attention to the victims of the next disaster until we’ve fixed the first?
As for the state that Haiti is in now – as other posters have already pointed out, it’s a complex problem. If it were easy to fix, people would have fixed it already.
He isnt wrong. Who cares if he didnt say it in a nice way.
What I think is that some celebrities doing humanitarian work tend to forget that the rest of us have jobs and our own problems. Im not saying that is an excuse and yes we should all be more charitable. But you cant judge the average person when you are above average so to speak.
Penn wasn’t on the jury last year, but he was president of the jury in 2008 (nathalie portman *side-eye*).
Sean Penn doesn’t pick my causes or anything else. I don’t like him and he looks like he smells and he is a wife beater (one of MY causes even though I’ve never been a victim). We all have our issues – personal and charitable. He has no right to tell me what mine are.
The causes I am personally passionate about aren’t limited to one country. My causes are issues affecting women and children, animals and the environment.
If those causes include Haiti, great. If it all goes to the US or India or China or Mexico that is great too.
Well said.
I thought Paul Haggis was gay.
Penn is such an ass. Is he so ignorant that he can’t acknowledge that Haiti is not alone in its need for humanitarian aid? There are many other countries who have similar needs. Just because Haiti is a cause he believes in, doesn’t mean he has the right to apply judgment to people who pick other countries or other issues to get involved in. Penn’s attitude completely negates any good he has done, imo. He should just STFU already.
I would love to live in a world free of the evil stranglehold of “political correctness”.
Sean Penn doesn’t have to say anything in a way ANY of you seem to deem proper.
Damn refreshing to just see some salty-tongued honesty. I for one am sick and tired of cunning, polite, sociopathic crooks running everything in the world now.
I’m with you he can say what he wants how he wants. The tangents some of these people are going about other countries needing aid. That’s not what he is saying. He’s saying that Haiti still needs aid and they are being forgotten like many other victims/countries who were impacted by natural disasters. People let there dislike for him get in the way of actually listening to his message. I’m no fan of Ted Nugent,but if he were doing some kind of charity work that was pretty important, I would be able to put my dislike of him aside to support his charity.
I understand the anti-political-correctness sentiment, but I think it’s misapplied here. He wants to help people and convince the world to help people in Haiti. If you look at the responses just on this site, his rudeness and accusation approach seems to have had overwhelmingly negative results. It’s not political correctness to know how to speak appropriately in a situation. Would you ask your boss for a raise by giving him/her a list of all their shortcomings, even if it were true?
LOVVVVVEE how he is in Cannes, surrounded by extreme wealth where Im sure he is eating out and drinking every night to the tune of thousands wearing $1000 suits and his fling of the week in $10k dresses. This weekend in Cannes costing more than an average Haitian makes in a lifetime!
He is such an unintelligent, moron!
He’s trying to get some of those rich folks to donate some of that money. Thought that was kind of obvious.
I’d love to help Sean, but I haven’t had a steady job in two years because the economy HERE sucks, so I’m a little short of funds right now.
God he is hideous!!!
Another big problem is AMERICAN charities not delivering what they were supposed to… of all the money the Red Cross got from donations from normal people only something like 40% went to Haiti… that is extremely frustrating!!! So many organizations and NGOs are corrupt and are just a front for people to make a good living while pretending they’re doing good… the fact is that even though the American public donated soooo much money to Haiti everyone with the power to do ANYTHING abandoned the Haitin people… things are terrible there right now… google it, you’ll see.
Wow, he is ugly. If he didn’t have fame and money she wouldn’t look in his general direction.
Ugh. I have never commented before on celebitchy, but as an aid worker myself, I can’t let this go. Celebrities like this, amateur aid workers and ill-informed do-gooders, have no idea of the pressure that exists on professional aid workers on a day to day basis who have their lives and families to consider. It would be fine if we all were multi millionaires with mansions to go home and recuperate in, but that’s not the reality. you do what you can, and you care more than you let on, because if you did let on you wouldn’t be able to do your job in a professional way. God I hate celebrity aid workers.
Hey Penn- how about f’ing abandoning your friendship with Hugo Chavez- as in the DICTATOR who heads a REPRESSIVE REGIME!!!
Douchebag.
Oh I think a lot of us are “abandoning” our houses in this crap economy and our jobs .. If you have the funds to not be offended by penns arrogance them he has hit the correct market..
But for me , I’m going to go ahead and reach for the fancy olives at the supermarket .
In the real world (directed @love) We are having hard econmic times. I agree.
But I also see the systematic, calculated destruction of other countries to be an indication of where America is headed.
I agree, go for the fancy olives. Live well, today its Haiti, tommorrow its American.
I agree that the divide between the rich and poor is growing and it feels like there is nothing we can do to stop it except go along for the ride and try to go after the job niches that are still growing, and help those we can .
I love being American , And I know where a lot of our standard of living comes from .
It’s a complicated issue , mr Sean p is in over his head on this one but at least he has something else to focus on besides beating women
I’m Japanese and have been supporting the areas affected by last march’s tsunami and followed nuclear disaster. I know how quickly people tend to forget but I’d rather seek people’s attention by explaining the situation calmly than blaming them because blaming people less interested is not what victims want.
Frankly I’m glad Penn let people have it, particularly because the interview was in Cannes. Many people don’t know this but Haiti, having won her independence in the 1800’s was compelled by France to pay them “reparations” for losing their chattel. Nice,mmmm? Having zero clout in the world though, Haiti ultimately paid France “reparations” the last penny of which was paid in the 1950s I think. Perhaps having a corrupt elite and being sucked dry by it’s former overlord would help explain why Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. The reason I bring this up is I think Penn is blasting the wealthy, in particular French wealthy, and not the 99%.
I wish celebrity activists would realize we have people suffering here in the United States.
I just saw sean’s interview on a morning show. I have to say for once Ann Curry did okay. Sean was very reflective, passionate, insightful about his flaws, and actually showed a sense of humor. I loved when Ann asked him how he feels being called one of the actors of his generation, his ability to disappear in diverse roles and make us believe. He basically said he is so embarrassed by himself often that maybe if is easier for him to really disappear into his characters. I came away liking him again. He wasn’t his usual insufferable self he can be in interviews.