Here are some photos of Sean Penn out and about last night in LA. Penn went dark following the release of his “interview” with El Chapo in the current issue of Rolling Stone. Penn was and is the worst kind of celebrity journalist, and the piece on El Chapo was the worst of celebrity journalism – Rolling Stone gave El Chapo editorial control, and Penn merely wanted to discuss America’s failed Drug War with El Chapo, not so much all of the people El Chapo has had killed or any of the ruthless tactics undertaken by the cartels or any of that. Well, after days of controversy – so many days, in fact, that most people had moved on – Sean Penn decided to break his silence. He granted an exclusive interview to a HIGHLY DOUBTFUL Charlie Rose for CBS/60 Minutes. Seriously, Rose is like “How did I get stuck with this assignment?”
Anyway, Penn is in full-on Ham-Face Douche Mode in the interview. He’s so preening and self-important, I actually laughed through much of the interview. Of course the El Chapo interview is all about him. Of course everyone is trying to make Sean Penn the bad guy, because politics… and journalism… and something. Of course everyone is lying about him. Of course the DEA is out to get him. Of course he humiliated the Mexican government. Of course the Mexican government wants the cartel to retaliate against Sean Penn. Of course Sean Penn’s motives were completely pure! He was just trying to have a conversation with the head of a cartel about the drug war! Of course Sean Penn is simply a martyr for the Conversation About Drugs.
Here’s another clip where Penn is basically saying that the professional journalists, editors and publishers criticizing Rolling Stone and Sean Pen for the way they handled this are all just JELLY H8RS. So, so jealous. Every single professional journalist would have done exactly what Penn did and they’re all steaming that they didn’t get a chance to conduct the exact same interview. And of course, the criticism is all about Sean Penn and how people don’t like him. Because he’s a martyr.
“I want to see the license that says that they’re a journalist…” Oh, Ham-Face. Never change.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
He is so self-important. Unbelievable.
He’s also pretty dumb. What idiot sits around at a hotel and talks loudly about an interview with a drug lord?! I’m still laughing about the fact that the police followed him! It’s like a cheap film! What a joke!!
Thank you @Liv. For years people have suggested this guy is an intellectual. All you have to do is watch him in interviews. He’s an idiot. I have to say most of the celebrities I’ve ever seen on Charlie Rose etc., have embarrassed me with their fake intellectualism (is that a word?) I remember seeing Brad Pitt on Charlie Rose a few years ago. I liked him before the interview. I like him now. However, it was so obvious that most of what he said in the interview were lines he’d either used in movies or that had been written for him. In between those lines he looked and sounded like a valley boy. It was highly disappointing!
What a little turd.
El Orango needs another smoke-o and looks forward to getting an oscar for portraying el criminal O.
SP did what he could with what he had at hand. The MX gvment is what it is. That’s why these things happen.
Nothing else to see here. Moving on.
Story on TMZ saying that El Chapo’s lawyers may call him to testify and that El Chapo never said he was the biggest drug king pin around. Me, couldn’t give two sh!ts about his interview. If I were him, I would be watching my back because the cartel may be out to get him.
Exactly. El Chapo might be in prison, but his network is pretty vast and I am sure if he blames Penn for his capture, Sean’s life could seriously be in danger. The interview was a very risky thing to do for a lot of reasons.
Hm I don’t know if I’m being a Celebitchy but El Chapo is dangerous and responsible for a lot of crimes and Sean Penn just casually interviews him and then expects praise? I can’t help but feel he is a selfish little man.
he looked like an angry Weepy ham
Well, they probably are now, after the doofus accidentally gave up their crime lord. So sad.
Journalists critique of him and Rolling Stone giving full editorial control to a criminal is valid. My God…he’s deluded.
My favorite part is still that El Chapo didn’t know who Penn was.
LOL mine too.
I hate him, sorry but I do. Who does he think he is?! Suree he thinks he did an expose on drug cartels, drug wars & el Chapo, one of the biggest drug kingpins out there. What he did was Sean Penn jerking off to himself thinking he’s a professional journalist. He didn’t say anything that the Mexican people don’t know & believe me we know way more. The reporters & journalists in Mexico know way more than he does but why do you think they don’t write it down, you say something not only you get threatened, your wife, kids, neighbors, hell even your third cousin you’ve never met will be killed, kidnapped or shot. I’m mad because he basically treats him like he’s a king but el Chapo has killed so many people, destroyed families & is helping ruin a whole country. We don’t need a white privileged as*hole to think he’s “saving” us, he could’ve helped by talking to the people affected by the cartels. He missed a chance to support us, do an expose on the Mexican gov & the drug cartels because sadly that’s what it’s come to.
He really thinks he’s all that. Like you said, he could have spoken to victims, to Government officials and then El Chapo, and paint the picture like it really is. As an outsider with a privileged life he could have taken that risk and done something important. He just wanted the recognition and didn’t care about anything else.
Espero que México algún día se libere de las drogas y de funcionarios públicos corruptos. Abrazos desde Argentina!
Seriously he missed a big chance to do this right, but he’s an actor not a professional journalist with years of experience. I think I read it from Lainey that he was bragging in the Golden Globes about the article.
Gracias Cee, esperemos que si! La situacion en Mexico es de lo peor. Lamentablemente mi familia & yo no hemos ido en 5 años por que la situacion empeora cada año.
This wasn’t about the people actually effected by El Chapo, this was about Sean ’21 Grams’ Penn feeling like he was really running with the big boys. He can’t address any of the real complexities of the story because he’s just another loser who thinks it’s cool if he can pretend to be a member of the mob (or in this case the cartel) for a little while.
I hope he doesn’t get off easily, if the DEA is going to investigate him I say go for it. He knew the risks of meeting el Chapo. It’s not joke what this guy has done to the people in Mexico, it has been getting worse the last 15 years. I mean he had so much information out there & with his status he would have gotten it all & be unaffected.
The entitlement coming off this guy is unbelievable.
The cynical part of me thinks all this blustering is because he’s aiming to get some kind of movie deal out of this.
I totally agree with you. I can’t imagine what Mexico is going through right now with the cartels and corruption. The contempt for law and order (evidenced by the killing of every mayor and police officer who isn’t on the payroll) is completely chilling.
He looks like ham and he is a douche. Now thats out of the way, he is right here 1) NONE of the journalists on his case would have turned the opportunity to interview El Chapo on the run. 2) Law enforcement is humiliated and is responding accordingly. They may also be trying to shield informants within the cartel with their claims 3) The Mexican government could be putting a big X on his and Kates head, and irrespective of whether or not you agree with what they did, its unacceptable to get them killed over it.
No journalist worth their salt would have passed up an interview with El Chapo.
I am a journalist, and I wouldn’t have taken the story. The reality is, most Mexican journalists who cover the drug wars properly live their lives in constant danger and fear. Dozens have been killed for genuinely reporting on El Chapo. I would not have done pre-approved a puff piece on El Chapo not only because pre–approval is unethical and would ruin my reputation as a true journalist, but out of respect for my colleagues who have been killed trying to tell the truth.
You wouldn’t have done it but many would. El Chapo isn’t the first or the last drug lord who will be interviewd. It’s also not unheard of for subjects to approve comments. You can save the it’s unethical stuff because journalists have done much worse to get a story. If you’re truly a journalist you know that.
“El Chapo isn’t the first or the last drug lord who will be interviewd [SIC]”
Sure, but they’re usually done with the subject safely in jail.
But no journalist would give EL Chapo editorial approval either. Why waste your time and put your life in danger when you can’t ask the questions you want that may be challenging or revealing in some way because a drug kingpin won’t approve it?
He’s not a journalist.
I sincerely hope both he and the actress who arranged this meeting have a lot of sleepless nights. I hope they get strange phone calls and feel like people are watching them.
The more that comes out of this story the less it’s about ‘journalism’ and a meeting of three ego filled douches. El Chapo was trying to flirt with Castille, Castille played a mob boss one too many times and thought she was in with the boys, and Sean Penn tried to paint El Chapo as a tragic hero who everyone is just picking on.
Also, apparently they HAD El Chapo as early as November and could have captured him but had to wait to protect these two morons and as a result lost him for another month.
Good job Rolling Stone, as if people weren’t using your magazine as toilet paper before.
Excellent summation.
This! ETERNAL you are so right. I am disgusted by all the support Kate is getting and the glossing over this sitation is: a massive ego trip by these three characters. They’re all disgusting egomaniacs
Sean Penn is a fool. He doesn’t have enough sense or humility to really understand who El Chapo is (a psychopathic murdering drug lord ). Instead this is all about Sean Penn and an excuse to be edgy and dramatic.
Napoleon Complex completely out of control. The lengths this moron will go to compensate for what I can only assume are massive inadequacies is mind boggling.
Ham & bean salad three days old
I did not realize he was that short until the photo of him shaking el Chapo hand 🤔
I am so damn glad Charlize wiped her hands off this asshole so i do not even have to pretend to care about him.
He is breathtakingly self-absorbed, but do you think, to a certain extent, he is scared and wanting to explain to people who might want to kill him, that he didn’t turn the guy in? I saw the video, and heard him say he wasn’t scared, but, come on… He has no play other than to say he isn’t scared. I would be willing to bet his security is beefed up.
You’re right about this, I actually never saw Sean Penn that scared. His voice is trembling at times.
Everyone is out to get me… WAHH WAHH. me and my stupid goatee are above the law WAHH WAHH.
We’re not going to disavow you of that notion Sean – we ARE out to get you. Mwah-hah-hah….
oh wait – I have more interesting things to do.
Oh Sean, Mexican government humilliates itself constantly just fine, they don’t need you for that…
Also, he seems a bit nervous, no? He is giving me than impression.
Nervous? More like scared shitless.
Sean Penn, Actor and Patron Saint of Hubris.
Thank God Sean Penn is on this earth to inform the masses of the injustices of the world.
FU!
No shit. What a trip he is. He’s so deluded he believes he is the only one who can unearth the truth. Get a grip on yourself, Sean Penn. Reign it in.
That’s the whiniest boiled ham I’ve ever seen.
He’s been such a mess since his divorce and he hit his 50s. I keep forgetting he was once a great actor and strong director.
I love Charlie Rose.
Funny I was thinking the same thing: he was a violent mess when he was married to Madonna. Then he went on marrying Robin Wright and became a decent actor, won Oscars and directed good movies. People respected him. Then Wright dumped him and he became a mess again: punching photographers and fans, messing with shady people. Robin Wright was a huge, HUGE part of the fact that he became someone in life, he could have ended up like Charlie Sheen without her and the stability she gave him. He didn’t even acknowledge her on his Oscar speech. What an ungrateful jerk.
Sean Penn was best buddy with the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. That, alone, says a lot about him. Sean Penn’s interview is a slap on the face to the Colombians and Mexicans police officers, soldiers and civilians whom for decades have been battling a bloody war against the drug dealers. Penn should move to Mexico City, Caracas, Medellin or Cali and then write an intelligent articulate well researched article about drug lords.
This little turd gives zero f*cks about his children’s lives. Mexican drug cartels are not to mess with and if what El Chapo’s lawyer is publicly saying is a little hint, Penn and his family will live in danger for the rest pf their lives, this is not a movie. His sense of self importance is embarrassing and Robin Wright should be enraged her children are risking their lives now.
Charlize is probably so happy she got out when she did. Madonna should take note.
Of course they are Sean!!! /sarcasm/
He doesn’t look like ham. Is ham that wrinkly? He looks like Freddy Kruger.
You nailed it, self important to the max. I really think that it was a huge blow to his ego when Charlize dumped him the way she did so he had to create distractions in his life like starting a lawsuit with Lee Daniels and this El Chapo thing.
So, this is what really gets me mad about all this thing.
Drugs are a huge business in Mexico, and we can all be sure politicians have a huge piece of that cake. Yes at those levels it is all luxury, money, power, heavy guns and becoming Drug Lords who are so powerful and famous that ’narco corridos’ are written in their honour, etc.
But for the huge rest of the people involve in that business, it’s all death and destruction. Once someone joins a cartel they are expected to live around 3 years before being killed; young people prefer to be merciless assassins who have access to drugs, alcohol and women, over a life of misery because the economic conditions in Mexico get worse everyday.
This drug war has killed nearly 200,000 people in Mexico, most of them civilians. A lot of people being kindnapped to never be seen again, including immigrants from Central America, who are just trying to reach the U.S. because most of them are also running away from the violence and poverty in their countries.
Meanwhile, media keeps glamourizing the Narco world in series, movies, songs, etc. I read the interview and besides of being a Sean Penn ode to himself, it also looks as another glamour version of the “mysterious” and “fascinating” side of the Narcos.
No credible journalist would give their subject editorial control, no credible journalist would fail to question a cartel boss about the innocent people they’ve killed, no credible journalist would do a puff piece promoting a mass murderer and themselves as oh so daring for meeting with mass murderer and writing puff piece.
Rolling Stone lost its credibility in between glorifying terrorists on the covers to writing fake stories to promote their political agenda. Now this. Ugh….
Sean should watch his back. The cartel isn’t a fluffy group playing anti establishment. They are vicious, psychopathic murderers. If they feel he’s responsible for leading the authorities to their boss or that his essay implicates the now apprehended boss, it’s bye bye Sean Penn.
I assume Sean would be happy for journalists to take acting roles in film, TV or theatre without any training or being unionised.
Omfg
“I want to see the license that says that they’re a journalist…”
It’s called a degree, and a job… AS A JOURNALIST. You raging, vainglorious, brain flatulent, silly actor ham!
It warms my cold, black heart to see Sean Penn raked across the coals thusly. Thanks for that, fellow commenters.
There is real fear on his face and in his voice and rightly so. He looked close to tears at times. He should be afraid. This interview is purely for Sean to try to make a case that he had nothing to do w the capture. That’s the motive. If it wasn’t for that I highly doubt Sean would care enough to go on tv to call out the so-called jealous journalist haters that live only in his mind. No journalist wants to be him right now. El Chapo worked very hard to escape prison and I’m sure he is furious and humiliated that he was caught and is back in custody. The Mexican gov’t is saying it’s bc of Penn they were able to locate him. Umm…no bueno. You in danger, girl!!
Well, that was one of the best examples I’ve read about how Hollywood types are delusional and self-absorbed and completly unaware of the reality of life. This whole think would make a great case study in a jounalism ethics class; it’s very much similar to what we talked about (eg would you interview Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, what if you were interviewing someone and they told you they were going to commit a criminal act….would yould tell police? Or just publish? Would you interview a serial killer? What if the serial killer was still at large but you knew where they were because you were going to interview them? ? Would you tell police …. wouldnthat make you the reporter part of thue story, which is unethical too? I don’t thinnk it’s wrong/unethical to interview El Chapo necessarily , but if Penn was truly couragous, I think he would asked some different questions and written a different story. To me, this just served to show Penn is a lightweight, no matter what he thinks.
My gossip sense though is wondering if there’s a more hidden reason about why he wrote a puff piece and that is because Penn didn’t “pay his bills,” so to speak… Still, he is a silly man.
He is a classic psychopath with narcissistic tendencies.
If he wanted to talk about the drug war in the U.S., he should have done an article on the drug war IN THE U.S. A true investigative journalist could write an article about El Chapo and tie it into the U.S.’s War on Drugs very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s been done, in fact. But Sean Penn? No way.
Penn could have interviewed Hollywood celebrities about their illegal drug use. The Rolling Stone could have had a real journalist weave what goes on to get those rich people their cocaine into that. That could have been fascinating. But instead we get this nonsense. What is going on at The Rolling Stone that they would be part of this farce?