Sean Penn has a new interview in Esquire’s January issue. Well, I say “interview” but you know how artsy-fartsy Esquire is. The piece is written in the first person, like Sean Penn sat there and wrote everything out for Esquire, when really the piece is the product of an actual interview. Sean is promoting Gangster Squad, that really violent film with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and Josh Brolin, etc. Some sites are excerpting some cryptic quotes from this piece and treating the quotes like Sean is talking sh-t about his ex-wife Robin Wright. Which… I mean, I think he’s talking about their marriage, definitely. But I do think the quotes should be heard in context. Here are some highlights from the piece (you can read the whole thing here):

His son’s accident several years ago: “My son had a skateboard accident where he almost died. He had emergency brain surgery. This was before he turned eighteen — he’s nineteen now. And when he was recovering, seeing the morphine go into him and give him relief created kind of a love affair for me with morphine and that usage of it. It had already been eight months of divorce and shit, and raising a kid that’s going through the divorce himself, and then this f–king thing happens. He’s 100 percent now, no brain damage — he’s great. Got a few scars, but he’s great. But it was a tough, tough time. When he got out of the hospital and he’s with his mother after being with me for six months, I thought, Wow, I can actually go on a date. And so I go out and I strike out four nights in a row, drinking at a bar and ending up home, you know, drunk. And on the fourth day I said, ‘I could just go sit in the middle of the bed and watch TV at four in the afternoon, too. I don’t have anything.’ My daughter’s eighteen and she’s doing her thing, my son’s with his mother. So I turned on the TV and there was this earthquake in Haiti.”

On Haiti: “You had a country that had never experienced anything that related to comfort, and out of that you had great trauma — but also this great strength that, I think, we all benefited from. That’s part of the cultural thread that can be shared between the countries. If you think about how pussified this country has become, right? Haiti is so far from being pussified.”

How Sean Penn gets people to donate: “In the beginning, my thing was always blackmail. I would say, “If you don’t f–kin’ do x, y, and z, I’m gonna go on f–kin’ CNN and I’m gonna f–kin’ let the world know!” And sometimes I would get mocked because the bottom line is that yes, it’s funny. It’s funny to have this sniveling actor in there — and you can make fun of it, but the f–king easiest thing in the world is to convince people not to write a check. And that’s not funny to the people who need the money.”

On the changing movie industry: “In my teens, I fell in love with the movies. And so when I got involved in the movies, I was a genius in terms of how the movies that were made in the generation that inspired me got made — but now the financing wasn’t there to do ‘em anymore. Trauma. I’m caught in a business that I’m in love with the idea of — the whole process that’s possible. Only now they’re not making movies — they’re representing them.”

He’s shilling Gangster Squad but he hates sellouts: “I just did this picture that I enjoyed doing. Gangster Squad. But I do think that in general the standard of aspiration is low. Very low. And mostly they’re just doing a bunch of monkey-f–k-rat movies, most actors and actresses. And I blame them just as much as I do the business. I know everybody wants to make some money, everybody’s got a modeling contract, everybody’s selling jewelry and perfume. I’m blinded by it. Bob Dylan said in an interview one time — somebody asked him, Are you really this reclusive? He says, No, I’m not reclusive, man. I’m exclusive. Exclusivity is like intimacy.”

Intimacy and consumerism: “When I was growing up and somebody like Robert De Niro had a movie come out, it was a cultural event. Because he had such a confidence and a single mission that was so intimate. But when people start using themselves as instruments of a kind of consumerist mosh pit, they’re helping that take over. I mean, you are a soldier for it or you’re a soldier against it. That’s all there is to it. And we have so little of that intimacy left, it’s no wonder that interpersonal relationships have become text relationships. It’s a texting orgy. When is somebody gonna sit there, with their mate or their child, and just look them in the eye and say, “I love you?” When is that life??”

He does like some actors: “I’m just not a big-budget kinda guy, you know? I don’t know the young actors as well, I’m not as aware of who’s out there, but when I think of the crew around my age: Daniel, Philip, Javier, Josh, Jessica Chastain — who is f–king Stradivarius — what a group! There’s a group that could be in all the classic pictures right now. Like the classics of the seventies or the classics of the forties. I think of that group of actors and it’s like, “Gimme a camera, I got an idea!”

This is the part about Robin: “There is no shame in my saying that we all want to be loved by someone. As I look back over my life in romance, I don’t feel I’ve ever had that. I have been the only one that was unaware of the fraud in a few of these circumstances blindly. When you get divorced, all the truths that come out, you sit there and you go, What the f–k was I doing? What was I doing believing that this person was invested in this way? Which is a fantastically strong humiliation in the best sense. It can make somebody very bitter and very hard and closed off, but I find it does the opposite to me.

[From Esquire]

Let’s analyze the part that’s probably about Robin – Sean claims that he doesn’t feel that he’s ever been loved by someone? That’s what he’s saying – that HE is the one who loves too much and that he’s always been with people who don’t love him. And he gives that a name – “fraud”. Love fraud. Because he was blinded by his love for those women and he didn’t see that they were frauds because they didn’t love him and they weren’t invested in the relationship? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? I do not. I think Robin put up with his lying, cheating, womanizing, drugging and drinking for decades. I think she was committed to loving him and raising their children together… until she wasn’t. Until she got tired of his crap. And even then, she still let him come back several times before they finally ended it for good. So basically, Sean Penn is a douchey whiner with a martyr complex. Shock.

Photos courtesy of Esquire.

A week and a half ago, many of us were startled to hear that a new couple had been formed. Sean Penn, 52, was actively pursuing Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine. Besides the fact that many of us are Flo fans and we don’t want to see her tainted with Sean Penn’s raging douche, there was another shock: Florence is only 26 years old!!! She is exactly half Sean’s age. And no one even believes that she’s that young anyway. So, I kind of hoped that the story about Sean and Florence was a one-off, something that would be eventually disproven when Sean went on some kind of cigarette, booze and supermodel bender. But the rumor is sticking around, and it still sounds like Sean is pursing her:

Sean Penn has fallen hard for a red-headed rock star half his age! Penn, 52, and Florence Welch, 26, have been making sweet music together since meeting in late October, a source tells The Enquirer.

“Sean is completely smitten with Florence and she thinks he’s absolutely charming and fascinating,” said the course. “They met at an event in LA and sparks flew right away. Florence may be half his age, but he was relentless in his pursuit and followed her around the whole night.”

Florence is newly single after splitting from her events coordinator boyfriend James Nesbitt. According to sources, Sean and Florence have been burning up their cell phone batteries since meeting on October 27.

“Sean loves fiery, young, beautiful women, and there’s something about Florence that has him captivated. He says that she’s not only gorgeous, but it’s her personality that really knocked him out. He determined to make something of this.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

I think that Sean likes powerful personalities in theory. Like, he likes a woman who will argue with him and who he can actually have a conversation with, but that will only give him hell a few times, you know? Thus, his default is “pretty and vapid”. And young, of course. If Florence is actually 26 (?), then I feel like she will end up getting her heart broken by Sean. He does seem to have that douche intensity that some women fall for… it’s powerful stuff. Ugh. Poor Flo.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

This is just an FYI: sources are currently claiming that Sean Penn might have found a new girlfriend. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be breaking news or anything, because the man goes through 20-something models like I go through tissues. But the catch this time is that his new girl might not be the typical 20-something model. Allegedly, he’s romancing Florence Welch and Florence + the Machine. NOOOOOooooo. I love her! She’s too good for him! There is photo evidence that Sean and Flo met several weeks ago at that LACMA event, and they look rather flirty too. So is it on? Ugh.

Florence Welch is the latest younger woman to have caught the eye of actor Sean Penn. The Florence And The Machine star met him at the Gucci Art charity event in Los Angeles two weeks ago and they hit it off instantly.

Now sources say that 52-year-old Penn has asked to meet up with her again.

‘Sean was flirting with her all evening and they got along like a house on fire,’ said an insider.

Florence, 26, split from her events organiser boyfriend James Nesbitt, 29, in September. Meanwhile Penn parted ways with Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson last year.

[From The Mail]

Back in May, there were also significant rumors that he was back on with his ex Petra Nemcova. I always thought that she just kind of followed him around and did whatever he wanted when they were dating, and that’s what he likes. You know? That’s why he dates 20-something models – he can’t handle being with a woman who has her own stuff going on, and he doesn’t want to be part of a relationship of equals. So why would a badass like Florence Welch – who is only 26 years, surprisingly (doesn’t she seem older?) – want to have anything to do with Sean? Ugh.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Madonna has issues. Sean Penn has issues. Why not let them get back together and work out their issues? Probably because they’ll only get much, much worse, right? Sometimes, two awful people get together and it becomes magical, and they are more than the sum of their parts. Sometimes two awful people get together and it just creates more awfulness. So it would be with Sean Penn and Madonna. For whatever reason, they just can’t quit each other, though.

It seems Sean Penn is still “Hung Up” on ex-wife Madonna. Standing front-row at her Oct. 11 MDNA show in Los Angeles, the single actor, 52, couldn’t take his eyes off the iconic star, to whom he was married from 1985 to 1989.

“Their chemistry was off the charts,” a fellow concert-goer raved in the Oct. 29 issue of Us Weekly. “Madonna seemed to be performing entirely for Sean. And he was saying things like ‘Amazing!’ and ‘She’s so hot!’”

The pair, whose constant fighting throughout their brief marriage earned them the nickname “the Poison Penns,” met on the set of the music video for the singer’s hit “Material Girl” in 1985 and wed just months later. In 1986, the pop star released her third album, True Blue, which was inspired by and dedicated to her new husband, “the coolest guy in the universe.”

The relationship was far from perfect, though, marred by hot-blooded outbursts and arguments. In 1989, they called it quits and divorced. Penn went on to marry actress Robin Wright, and Madonna wed director Guy Ritchie — but the former loves never could let go of each other completely. In January 2010, they broke bread over a three-hour dinner at Adour Alain Ducasse, sparking rumors of a reconciliation.

“They’ve remained close friends,” a pal told Us. “But they are fire and fire together romantically. She can only be with someone she can control.”

That’s certainly not Penn. And in any case, Madonna already has a boyfriend: Brahim Zaibat, 26, whom she has been dating for the last two years.

“Madonna’s friends wish she’d get back with Sean,” the source said. “He will always be the love of her life.”

[From Us Weekly]

Considering Sean Penn usually dates 20-something models, I kind of think his current feelings for Madonna are probably pretty douchey. My guess is that he wants to mindf-ck her. Not sexually. He just wants to be around a powerful woman so he can mess with her. Doesn’t he seem like the type? Anyway, Star Mag says that Sean was definitely at the concert too, and that he came backstage after the show “hoping for a reconciliation.” After that, they allegedly went back to her LA home. Star Mag also says that Madonna is almost done with Brahim Zaibat. Ugh. Even though I don’t give Madonna credit for much these days, I really hope she’s too smart for this. Madge and Sean were like the Chris Brown and Rihanna of their day, you know? It’s gross.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sean Penn’s Haiti Benefit at Cannes on Saturday raised over $2 million for charities including his own, The J/P Haitian Relief Organization, his girlfriend Petra Nemcova’s Happy Hearts Fund and director Paul Haggis’ Artists for Peace and Justice. In a press conference ahead of the event, Penn alienated some with a remark about how how the whole world had forgotten Haiti. It was an understandable sentiment from someone so dedicated to a cause, but it came across as angry. He said “It’s not only celebrities who went for a day [to Haiti]. It’s the whole f#$*ing world. It’s all of you.”

In a new interview with Ann Curry on the Today Show, Penn came across much better than some of the quotes from the press conference made him sound. He was intense, but you could tell he cared so deeply and that this was a cause close to his heart. This may sound rude, but it was funny for me to contrast Ann Curry’s milquetoast concern, which is her approach to basically all interviews, and Penn’s impassioned pleas. Their styles worked together and Penn really seemed to open up. The dude is dedicated to this cause. He started crying and I wanted to give him a hug. Here’s what he said at the beginning, when he got choked up.

Curry: I detect an emotional component in this for you.
Penn: It’s emotional because you see how it can work, and you say ‘Oh God, it better work this time.’
Curry: What in your view, does victory look like in Haiti?
Penn: Victory looks like a brilliant young Haitian kid, who had no better choice than to go to the United States and get an education, make a decision to go home. [starts choking up]
It looks like where people have a chance, where kids get to say “I was born here, I can get the education here, and I can do it.”

Then Sean told a story about a man affected by the earthquake who lost his whole family and became a hero. This made me cry.

Curry: For many people who go to these kinds of places, there is an… image that doesn’t leave you.
Penn: I could give you a story image of a policeman who rationed his cigarettes because of the expense… Went home, he would see his children, his parents, his wife, downstairs… Went upstairs, took off his police uniform… walk outside to have that smoke. Then the earth shook and he turned around to the two level home behind him with his whole family in it, and it was up to his knees. He dove into it after his family, he reached into the concrete to get them and all he got was his uniform. So he put it on and he became the one guiding the emergency traffic that saved about 500 lives in the first two days.

As for his known anger, Penn laughed and explained that he gets pissed off at relief workers who come to Haiti for the glory and not to help people. He laughed about it, and said he needs to work on his temper. I thought this was funny. I’ll use the Today Show’s writeup for this part, because it puts his other comments into context:

Curry asked Penn about his demanding nature, particularly when working with helpers in Haiti, and he was unrepentant: “Most of the people I’m angry at are usually international volunteers who are coming over to stamp themselves with a do-gooder label. … I don’t control my temper well, I guess.”

Penn has long been a supporter of humanitarian causes, including journeying to post-Katrina New Orleans to help rescue people, though he drew some fire for bringing a photographer to document the event. But, he adds, he’s not out to prove he’s more moral-than-thou.

“I’m not going to accuse myself of being moral. … I recognize a lot of the things that are less than good in me, and similarly there is a very powerful thing that comes when something is good despite me,” he said.

And on the subject of morality, Penn has some ideas about the afterlife: “I prefer not to go to hell,” he said. “I’d like to think that heaven is a little sexier than generally portrayed … but if it is black and quiet, that’s OK too.”

[From MSNBC.com]

I came away with much more respect for Penn and for the incredible hard work he’s doing. Toward the end of the interview, around 4:00 in, they showed clips from some of his seminal roles. Curry asked Penn if he accepts that he’s “one of the greatest actors of our time,” and he answered it extremely well, basically admitting that he’s a good actor but chalking it up to a character flaw.

“I am constantly embarrassed by my own personality. Maybe I have a strength in that as an actor, in that maybe it’s because I’m willing to give it up. I have a very tough time with people. It’s not that I’m totally anti-social, it’s just that I don’t want to socialize with the people I already know.”

Then Curry called him an idealist and they had a laugh. It was probably one of the best interviews she’s done. Sometimes her approach works.

These are photos from the Haiti Carnivale party at Cannes, featuring Penn, Petra Nemcova, co-host Georgio Armani and guests Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson, and Jada Pinkett Smith. I’m impressed with how great everyone looks. Credit: Fame Flynet

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

This photo is from 2008

This news may have come out a little while ago, but I barely paid attention to it at the time. Apparently Sean Penn and model Petra Nemcova have rekindled their romance. Since his split with Robin Wright (and perhaps before) Sean Penn has been drawing in gorgeous women like flies. He’s been with Scarlett Johannson of course, and was also rumored to be dating Garcelle Beauvais, Charlize Theron, and a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model named Jessica White. Back in 2008 he dated Petra Nemcova, and she seems to be giving him another chance. The way US explains it, Petra jumped back into it with Sean almost immediately after she broke up with her fiance last month. Here’s more:

After a weeks-long fling in February, 2008, Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova are giving it another go. On May 10, a witness saw the pair, “holding hands” during u2 frontman Bono’s star-filled 52nd birthday bash at NYC’s The Spotted Pig. After Penn, 51, and the Czech model, 32, mingled with revelers… “they left together,” adds a second onlooker. It’s Penn’s first high profile hookup since Scarlett Johansson, 27, with whom he split after four months in June, 2011. And the Oscar winner’s quite the rebound for Nemcova, who announced April 11 she had called off her engagement to British actor Jamie Belman, 26. Explains a source “Petra started going on dates with Sean right after the split.”

[From US Weekly, print edition, May 28, 2012]

Rebound being the operative word here. I’ve heard plenty of stories of people being heartbroken by breakups, contacting an earlier ex and rekindling romances.

Penn generally seems like a grumpy, chain-smoking old man and it’s hard to imagine what women see in him. He regularly talks smack about his career, his critics, anyone else involved in charity like he is and about politics, and he just strikes me as unpleasant. I guess there are women who find that somehow attractive. They may find his intelligence impressive or something. The rest of us see him as an a-hole.

Petra is shown in 2008 with Penn and at the Tribeca Film Festival on 4-20 and at Fashion Week on 2-15 – in Marchesa of course. Penn is shown on a trip to Argentina on 2-13. Credit: WENN.com

I really do love an opportunity to write about Sean Penn’s toupee (or weave or whatever), so I was actually kind of thrilled to see these images of Penn filling up at the gas station while holding a cigarette in his mouth. This man is such a walking contradiction. Of course, that cigarette is unlit, but the illusion is there — Sean Penn, danger boy who plays with fire. (Side note: Give me a break — I’m on lots of ibuprofin for dental pain and obviously not thinking clearly.)

At any rate, Penn really is a man of opposing viewpoints. He’s a champion of the environment but is clearly driving a gas-guzzling truck in these photos. Beyond his lifestyle choices, he’s currently being honored by Nobel laureates for his relief work in Haiti, and he’ll receive the 2012 Peace Summit Award in Chicago at a ceremony where the Dalai Lama is scheduled to attend. However and as Kaiser recently discussed, Penn is still mostly a douchebag, and England is still largely quite irritated with his stance on the Falkland Islands as belonging to Argentina. Now an MP is speaking out on Penn and Morrissey for their ill-advised rantings on the topic:

A Government minister has hit out at “ill-informed” celebrities who have endorsed Argentina’s claims over the Falkland Islands.

Westcountry MP Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister with responsibility for the South Atlantic islands, criticised US actor Sean Penn and singer Morrissey who contend the territory should be handed back to neighbouring Argentina.

Mr Browne, Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton Deane, told the Western Morning News that support for the 3,000 inhabitants of the islands to determine their own future – namely British sovereignty – remained “completely solid.” He added: “The Oscar for the most ill-informed contribution to this debate definitely goes to Sean Penn. I’m not quite sure on what basis Sean Penn and Morrissey feel that they have insights to provide on this that people who don’t act in films or sing for the Smiths fail to possess. What matters for the future of the Falkland Islands is what the Falkland islanders think, rather than what Hollywood actors or middle-aged pop stars think.”

Sovereignty of the disputed territory, located about 300 miles off the southern tip of Argentina, has been British since the 1830s. The minister’s comments came ahead of the 30th anniversary of Argentina’s then fascist junta invading the Falklands on April 2, 1982. The war, involving Westcountry-based 3 Commando Brigade and Plymouth-based warships, saw 255 British soldiers and three islanders die.

Mr Browne will be the British Government delegate sent to the Falklands to mark the Argentinian surrender and liberation on June 14, 1982.

The Hollywood actor criticised Britain’s “ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology” and the deployment of Prince William to the islands on a tour of duty as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. The outburst was followed by former Smiths frontman Morrissey telling a crowd in the Argentinian city of Cordoba: “We know the islands belong to you.”

[This is Cornwall]

Naturally (and as Kaiser also pointed out), Penn isn’t entirely off base with his discussions of colonialism in relation to the Falklands. However, Penn seems to have forgotten all about how the United States came to possess Malibu, California, where Penn lives in a luxurious mansion. As such, the Telegraph has now called for appropriate action on the part of Penn:

I’d like to make a statement about the growing crisis in the Americas. It’s time for justice. It’s time for liberty. It’s time to end the ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology. It’s time Sean Penn handed his Malibu estate back to the Mexicans.

Sean Penn pretends to be a friend of the developing world, but really he is not. To be fair, his recent call for the Falkland Islands to be returned to Argentina was an admirable strike against capitalist imperialism. Moreover, I and the entire North Korean press corps cheered him on when he flew to Iraq to parley with Saddam Hussein, or when he spoke about Hugo Chavez in such glowing terms. But there have always been hints that his sympathy isn’t really with the workers at all. Aside from that time that he spent 32 days in prison for hitting an extra, his net worth of an estimated $150 million is a bit of a giveaway.

His continued occupation of Malibu is an unacceptable mockery of national self-determination. The Mexicans owned that stretch of real estate well into the early 19th century and it was stolen by the Americans in a naked act of imperialist aggression. America’s claim over Malibu is tenuous and rooted in patriarchy. Sean Penn’s house is a mocking reminder of that brute chauvinism, with its high white walls and spacious interiors. Its swimming pool is an insult to the honour of the Mexican people.

[From Telegraph]

Eh. Penn will ignore this (even though it is funny as hell) just like he probably ignores his carbon footprint by driving such an environmentally unsound vehicle. Just like he ignores the fact that he smokes while giving the appearance of being an avid runner. Yes, Penn will always be a man of contradiction, and no matter how serious he attempts to be in the political arena, I will never stop thinking of him as Jeff Spicoli.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

These photos are of Sean Penn last week in Argentina. WENN notes that Penn is “visiting the Casa Rosada”!!!!! Did anyone get a little jump? Who out there loves Evita? On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada?!?! Sigh… Sean Penn wishes he could pull an Evita Peron. Anyway, Sean was in Argentina because he hates the United Kingdom and their colonialism and Prince William specifically, I think. Penn went to Argentina to advocate for the return of the Falkland Islands to Argentina. This really happened:

Sean Penn has waded into the debate over the Falkland Islands by backing Argentina and accusing the British government of “ridiculous colonialism”. The outspoken Oscar-winner met with Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires to offer his support in the sovereignty dispute.

Using the South Atlantic islands’ Spanish name, he urged British officials to enter into negotiations with Argentina as the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War approaches.

He says, “I know I came at a very sensitive moment in terms of diplomacy between Argentina and the U.K. over the Malvinas. I hope that diplomats can establish true dialogue in order to solve the conflict. The world today cannot tolerate ridiculous demonstrations of colonialism. The way of dialogue is the only way to achieve a better solution for both nations… It’s necessary that these diplomatic talks happen between the United Kingdom and Argentina. I think that the world today is not going to tolerate any kind of ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology.”

Both countries’ governments claim responsibility for the Falkland Islands.

[Via WENN]

So, as you can imagine, a lot of British people hate Sean Penn now. And Prince William – who is currently training in the Falklands – probably isn’t pleased. Do I need to talk about this any further? Eh. Sure, Penn has a point about colonialism (which we as Americans are not innocent of either), but why did Sean Penn even wade into this debate? He’s not affiliated with any organization (except for the Haitian charity he started), and his only political agenda is his own personal one. I don’t understand why we needed to hear Sean Penn’s thoughts on this or any subject.

In other Sean Penn news, he’s not always a d-bag:

He may have a reputation as one of the most ornery actors in Hollywood, but Sean Penn also has a major soft (and generous) side, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

The ex-Mr. Madonna bad boy showed off that deep down he’s actually a nice guy after generously footing the medical bill for a wounded war veteran — to the tune of $15,000!

An eyewitness tells RadarOnline.com that Penn had a dinner party at his pad recently and one of his friends brought an Iraqi war veteran as her date. Long after the dinner and dessert was served, Penn got into a discussion with the guy who mentioned that he was drowning in medical bills incurred from injuries he got during the war.

“Sean really took an interest in this guy and was hanging on his every word. He became the guest of honor, really,” the source says.

The soldier shared that during his tour, he had suffered a broken tailbone, two broken ankles and problems with his eyesight, and claimed he was still suffering the aftermath of his injuries. Penn asked him how much money he owed in medical expenses, and the soldier estimated around $15,000.

The Oscar winning actor excused himself and left the room. He returned minutes later with a signed check — for $15,000!

“The guy was in total shock! He didn’t know what to say and he started to tear up. He felt awkward accepting it and tried to give it back to Sean, but Sean refused,” the source tells RadarOnline.com. “He actually went out of his way to make sure the guy felt comfortable accepting it. It was really sweet!”

[From Radar]

Okay, that’s nice. I wonder if someone working for Sean put this out there, or if it was really just someone at the dinner? I’m asking if Sean is actually engaging in trying to give himself a softer public image, or if he’s just a guy who did a nice, decent thing and really didn’t expect to get any recognition from it. I’m assuming the latter. Because I think Sean Penn likes that we think he’s a d-bag. Because he is most of the time.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Sean Penn and Robin Wright did the breakup-and-makeup thing for years and years. It got so bad, I even lost track for a few years as to whether or not they were on or off. Like, I almost positive they were done and then they showed up together while Sean was promoting Milk in 2008-09. But shortly after that, I think they were finally over? Maybe? Like, summer 2009. Post-split, Sean drowned himself in booze and women (no different then when he was married), and he spent a lot of time in Haiti, working with his charity. And after their split, Robin had moved on with a new boyfriend, producer Greg Shapiro. When Robin showed up with Shapiro at the 2010 Oscars, according to reports, Sean got into it backstage with Shapiro, and Sean’s actions were so off-side, Penn was banned from the Governors Ball. However, through it all, Sean and Robin were said to be close because of their two kids, and they were committed to co-parenting (when Sean wasn’t in Haiti). So maybe it’s not shocking that they might have found their way back together?

Sean Penn and ex-wife Robin Wright may be headed toward reconciliation.

“They’ve been spending a lot of time together,” says an insider, who reveals that the couple originally grew apart due to busy work schedules and long stretched of time away from each other.

“They’ve been living the single life – and quit frankly, it doesn’t agree with either of them. They really miss their life together as a family.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

I’m not sure that I buy that they split up because of “work schedules”. I think they split up because Sean’s an ass and he was always screwing around on Robin and she finally had enough of all of it. While I believe that Sean has been drowning himself in young ladies since then, I’ll buy that he does miss Robin. She held him together, I think. She kept him sane and she definitely helped with his reputation.

UPDATE: Ah, I just saw this denial that Robin’s rep gave to RumorFix: “[Robin’s] on location in Australia, she’s shooting a movie with Naomi Watts. They’re just making up stuff; she’s been gone since mid January. Clearly there’s no photos of them together, so it’s clear…they’ve not been spending any time together.” I want to believe Robin isn’t messing with Penn again, but her history with him… it makes me believe that she’s capable of falling into his clutches again.

Here are some photos of Robin filming The Grandmothers with Naomi Watts this week – Robin’s still got a great figure, doesn’t she?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.