'Milk' star Sean Penn: Pal of anti-gay dictators?

I'm not surprised to discover that Sean Penn is under attack again for his outspoken admiration of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Raul Castro. The real shocker is who's doing the attacking: The Advocate, America's leading gay publication. James Kirchick, an assistant editor at the New Republic, pretty much eviscerates Penn, who just wrote a cover story in the Nation singing the praises of both Latin American dictators. Up until now, in the wake of his bravura performance as gay activist Harvey Milk in "Milk," the mainstream entertainment press hasn't bothered to ask Penn any tough questions about his political views.

But the Advocate doesn't pull any punches. Saying Penn is likely to win all sorts of prizes from prominent gay organizations for his role, Kirchick writes that "Penn's political activism, irrespective of his views on gay rights, negates the values for which a movement based upon individual freedom must stand." Kirchick calls Penn's Nation story a "love letter" to the dictators, comparing it to the notorious dispatches starry-eyed liberals sent back home during the early years of the Soviet Union, describing it as a worker's paradise, "neglecting to mention anything about the gulag, the 'disappearance' of political dissidents or any other such inconvenient truths about Communism."

Penn, who received a Golden Globe nomination today for his performance in "Milk," seems to have forgotten that not long after Fidel Castro took power, the Cuban government ordered the internment of gay people in prison labor camps where, as Kirchick puts it, "they were murdered or worked to death for their 'counterrevolutionary tendencies.' " He adds that Penn's pal, Raul Castro, was notorious for executing political opponents, whose only crime was often their homosexuality. Though Cuba has since decriminalized homosexuality, the government still bans all gay organizations or any other group critical of the regime.

Thor Halvorssen, president of the respected Human Rights Foundation, also takes aim at the actor in the piece, calling the Castro brothers "thugs and murderers," saying "that Sean Penn would be honored by anyone, let alone the gay community, for having stood by a dictator that put gays into concentration camps is mind-boggling." I'm an old leftie myself. But having grown up in Miami, where I saw up close and personal the flood of people--straight and gay--fleeing persecution in Cuba, I no longer share Penn's naive admiration for totalitarian despots who pass themselves off as populist heroes.

In an era of softball showbiz journalism where newspapers and magazines--including my own paper--rarely ask actors or filmmakers any inconvenient questions about their political beliefs, I'm not holding my breath that anyone will be holding Penn's feet to the fire. Kudos to the Advocate for reminding us that it was Harvey Milk who said that gay rights are human rights and it is Penn "who discredits both when he rushes to the defense of thugs who posture as victims of the West."

It raises a fair question that I'd like to hear your opinions on: Should we only concern ourselves with Penn's wondrous work as an actor in "Milk," which coming in the wake of the controversy over Proposition 8 will surely remind people that the struggle for gay rights in America is far from over? Or does his offscreen embrace of gay-bashing dictators matter just as much as his onscreen artistry, especially when the views of his political heroes so completely conflict with the free-speech message of the man he celebrates in "Milk"?

Photo of Sean Penn in "Milk" by Phil Bray / Focus Features

Comments

[Christian Toto]

Great post ... and even more fascinating a topic in light of Jerry Lewis' honorary Oscar - and the protests starting to build over it (according to Nikki Finke).

Softball journalism has its place with some celebrities, but when actors start digging deep into politics it's only fair that they get tougher, more thoughtful questions. Yet they rarely do. We'll see if anyone over the next three months poses these kinds of questions to Penn ... and what his reaction will be.

Ultimately, Penn is a great actor ... and he proves it anew in "Milk." He should win the nomination for that reason, and that reason alone.

[Jim Mulroney]

I spent 20 years working in staff positions at the University of California and it never ceased to amaze me how knee-jerk liberals would lavish praise on dictators like Castro and Chavez, insisting that there has never been a human rights violation in Cuba or that the KGB ever murdered anyone. Where is the critical thinking that they were supposedly nurturing while earning their advanced degrees? Extremist ideology on the left can be just as vile and destructive towards humanity as its book-end on the right.

[Kevin]

I don't think Chavez is anti-gay, and I don't think I would consider Chavez a dictator. He's more of a buffoon with lots of anti-American rhetoric.

[ejdubya]

His personal political activities and his professional acting abilities are two separate issues. I may think it's unfortunate that he chooses to glorify apparently cruel tyrants, but this is America, and he has the right to his opinions. Those opinions should not distract from his work as an actor. The Advocate and other gay rights organizations have the same right to speak their opinions as Penn has to speak his. Again, it's America, folks, and one of the cornerstones of American liberty is the right to speak your mind and to disagree with others who do likewise. Neither is right or wrong. Each is entitled to their opinion. Time to grow up and return to civil discourse and disagreements about vital topics like this. Enough with the judgements.

EJDubya

[Sean Hurley]

I always thought the LA Times was a serious newspaper employing educated and serious writers. My mistake. Hugo Chavez has more democratic legitimacy than any US politician having been elected many times, survived a recall, and then accepted the results when is constitutional reforms were defeated in a referendum.

The US constitution has taken a beating over the past eight years and not once has a change been put before the US people.

You can be certain that if the Venezuelan courts or people demanded same-sex marriage rights for Venezuelans, Chavez would honor them even if he disagreed. How is same-sex marriage working out in California?

Didn't Obama campaign against same-sex marriage? Do you feel the same about him as you do Chavez and Obama? Or is that different?

[Arye Michael Bender]

I lived in San Francisco during Milk's run, and assassination. Even met him once or twice. He was a very unimpressive human being, and no hero. Harvey Milk was a third rate politician who squandered his election as city Supervisor. He had a marvelous opportunity to be a spokesperson for civil rights. He did not use it. His unfortunate killing was because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His was a collateral killing after the target of Dan White's rage, Mayor George Moscone. Milk was not killed because he was gay, or White was homophobic. He just happened to be in the way.

The truth of the above statement will bring howls of hate. Milk was turned into a martyr by his constituency for a cause greater than was the man. So the Advocate and Milk's constituency have ignored reality and history as it was with heroic distortions. They can attack Sean Penn all they want for his views, but theirs are on shaky ground, And one more point: Milk showed no particular courage in running as an openly gay candidate in San Francisco from the Castro District in that ear. It was a non-issue, particularly in the open-minded era of the seventies. Now had he run openly in, let's say Oklahoma City, then that would have been heroic.

Respect Sean Penn for the performance he gave. Respect him for speaking out in favor of people our government would have us hate. And please, respect the history as lived, not the myth as made.

- Arye Michael Bender -

[V.M.L.]

Sean Penn should do his gay history homework before making friends with dictators. It is so mind-boggling of him to be praising Castro and Chavez, calling them victims of the West when they victimize their own gay communities. I saw MILK two weeks ago and I thought it was so heart-touching that I cried. His performance as Harvey "Gay Martin Luther King Jr." Milk was fantastic. As a film lover and amateur filmmaker, I can only say that I admire him as an actor. Yet, as a liberal-minded American citizen, I don't agree with his tastes in political heroes.

[Tom R.]

Penn's performance as Harvey Milk was outstanding. Acting is his profession, and he does it well. It seems fairly obvious that he supports gay rights, so I suspect his admiration for Chavez and Castro is exactly what Thor Halvorssen suggested it might be: naivete. Perhaps the Advocate article will prompt him to reexamine his ideas about these dictators. Let's hope so.

[Jovian Radheshwar]

I agree that calling attention to the Cuban government's internment policy is an important matter that demands some resolution on the part of Sean Penn to square with his role in 'Milk'. But to refer to Hugo Chavez as a 'totalitarian' is completely wrong and needlessly demonizes a democratic person, who has repeatedly submitted to elections and who is the executive of a country where more than half the population resides in localities governed by the opposition parties to his mainline socialist party. Please get this information correct in the future as to save yourself the embarrassment of being wrong and misleading people as a result of it - we need accurate information to approach reality, not unsubstantiated invective against a strong leader who happens to disagree with your own personal ideology.

Of course, 'Americanism', which has nothing to do with authentic American patriotism, has long since naturalized and sublimated its appearance, so nakedly ideological claims like 'Chavez is a totalitarian' get made without the seeming need to at least back up the argument. Indeed, the author fails to provide any reasoning why Chavez-admiration in any way conflicts with being against the discrimination of gay persons. Lumping Chavez and Raul Castro together in this way is crude racism, like equating Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and is the stuff that racial generalization, profiling, categorization without escape and the like are based upon. They are indeed the most virulent threats to individuality, both on the part of groups stereotyped as such, and on the part of the stereotyping person, as such an attitude towards the other precludes authentic communication between persons - the only way to enrich individuality.

[Lyle Miller]

That anyone would think Sean Penn in the first place has a word of wisdom on any topic absolutely astounds me. To enjoy his acting talents (hey, he's a great actor) I have always had to remind myself to try not to hate him for his obtuse, abstruse ignorance of what the United States represents to oppressed people who thirst for freedom. On that account, my dog has more smarts than Sean Penn. Whatever faults this country may have, we don't execute gays or impound them in gulags.

[Enough Commies Already]

I know a lot of celebrities are out there cozying up to dictators like Castro and Chavez to burnish their credentials as anti-Bush compatriots, but isn't that so 2008 already? Look, we have a new role model, Obama, an American, and the new president to boot. We no longer need to look abroad for other corrupt ideologies. I applaud The Advocate for standing up to Penn for his hypocritical views, just as the actor brings Harvey Milk back into the consciousness. This is a tough move, but necessary. The Castros and Chavez (and Bush together) are products of a bygone era of bankrupt ideas. Rejecting Bush does not necessarily mean embracing his enemies, especially when such a promising third way is on the cusp of leadership. Shame on you, Sean Penn, for betraying your country's principles (now about to be personified) for cheap, shallow, sophomoric Hollywood political points. The writer's point about past progressives' support for the Soviet regime is dead-on; we don't need any latter-day Jane Fondas.

[Sudhit]

To people like Penn, the sociaiist Chavez and communist Castro regimes exemplify supposed ideal societies, i.e. polar opposites of the American capialist society Hollywood loves to denounce. Human rights violations? Political persecution? Easily overlooked in the name of America-hate by many of the Hollywood elite who fawn over the likes of Hugo Chavez and the Castros.

[Pirolo]

How Mr. Penn can identified himself with gays characters and at the same time be friendly with the most anti-guys regimes on earth? Is he playing the gay card to get his name in the news? Does he knows what happened to homosexuals in Cuba?

[Josh B]

Leaving Cuba off the table for a moment- As Penn rightly points out in his article in the Nation, Chavez has been democratically elected multiple times at the ballot box and has also had his initiatives and allies suffer defeat in elections. So why is the L.A. Times propagating false accusations that Chavez is a dictator? This strikes me as harmful journalism that can lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions about foreign countries. A misinformed public is vulnerable to being misled...

[onid]

Thank you for this post Mr.Goldstein.

I find so much irony in what Penn and other fellow travelers do. They protest and scorn the US government, but you don't see the same freedom given to dissidents in the countries which they so lavishly praise.

When my humble family lived in Cuba, gays were routinely beaten, and long haired "hippies" had their hair cut right on the street by the police.

Penn proves that Dictators do -give- similar people civil rights, but only when it is to critique the so called enemy.

Sorry Penn, but not everyone who dissents in a worker's paradise is a mercenary.

[anarene]

I'd like to interview Sean Penn and the likes of Benicio de toro and the rest of the Hollywood useful idiots and ask them WHY, WHAT makes them admire and believe in these dictators? I already know the answer: if these dicatators are ANTI-Americans, and they are, they must be good people. dictators PRO Americans are bad very bad criminals. The conclusion is, therefore, the useful idiots are ANTI Americans themselves.

[Native Angeleno]

It is Patrick Goldstein who is the kneejerk supporter of evil politicos. He's right on Castro, wrong on Chavez. The media line on Chavez is uniformly shrill, never revealing the Bush/Dem support of the oil-wealthy thugs that make up the Venezuelan upper-class who followed American direction to try to overthrow the very popularly-elected Chavez. How democratic are Goldstein's jack-booted principles in his ugly rightwing diatribes?

[Ziva Sahl]

Take Penn's article, replace 'Castro' and 'Chavez' with Hitler, and you have your answer. Why is the murder of 6 million by Hitler unaceptable but communists who are collectively, (Stalin, Mao, the Castro's, etc.) responsible for the death of over a hundred million people wind up on t-shirts and glorified by Hollywood? Absolutley we should concern ourselves with the politics of these apologists for dictators; their endorsement provides propaganda for these thugs and perpetuates the misery of those living under their boot.

[Carlton Solomon]

Just to make a few points that no one else has made. SP says that anti-sodomy laws were repealed in Cuba in1979, but the following year anti-gay repudiation mobs were organized by the Cuban dictatorship and filmed by that country's state television system, all you have to do is view the documentary "Improper Conduct" that was made by N.Almendros and O.Jimenez-Leal, and SP should know about that after having appeared in the film adaptation of Reinaldo Arenas' life. What fascinates me is the oppurtunism in these people. I remember in the 1980s there was an open letter written by Nestor Almendros and R.Arenas demanding free elections in Cuba, two of the signatories were G.Depardieu and Jack Nicholson, once NA's cadaver chilled they went flying off to Cuba to render homage to FC, basically spitting on NA's grave. Remember Marisa Tomei in "The Perez Family"? She goes flying off to Cuba as well. Kudos to The Advocate for showing a sense of right and wrong, what they're teaching me is that it's not a question of right vs. left, but democracy versus dictatorship. I would much rather sit next to a gay person who defends human rights than a reactionary Republican farmer who goes flying off to Havana to sign a wheat sale.

[Bill]

Penn reminds me of the young naive tourists I always saw running around Havana with Che T-shirts and the Lonely Planet Guide. Yet, as a result of his celebrity, he gained access to the higherups like Raul, who saw him as a useful propaganda tool. I thought Cuba was paradise myself, until I tried to live there as a Cuban, and saw the miserable failures of the Revolution and their whole system. Sean, come on down to Havana with me, and see the real thing. I speak Spanish, and the ordinary Cubans I'll introduce you to will open your eyes. They aren't dissidents, most of them think of Fidel as 'papa.' They just can't do anything but barely exist. We won't let Raul know you're there.

[Tomas Estrada-Palma]

Sean Sean Sean. Playing with racist gay murdering dictators? Shame on you. What were you thinking? Lets hope you were just duped by these masters of information war. Did you know Sean that your friends hung out with Che? Che stated that blacks were "indolent and lazy." You may not know what those words mean Sean as your reasoning in other areas would suggest could be the case. But these are not complements.

[Cigar Mike Pancier]

Mr. Spicoli (aka Sean Penn) should take time to watch

Mauvaise Conduite by director Nestor Almendros which chronicled the murder and imprisonment of gay people in Cuba under the Castro Regime.

Maybe he'll think twice before he gushes over these murdering tyrants.

[Armando]

I live in Caracas, Venezuela. All those pro-Chavez are invited to switch places with me. You live here and I'll move to California or anywhere else in the USA. I'll give you a call six months after the deal and check up on you and see how you like it by then.
Merry Xmas 2 all!

[guy]

Calling Chavez a dictator is arrogant. He may not be a saint, but just because he shares the same accent with a dictator, doesn't automatically make him a dictator.

For those who haven't read the article the Advocate is referencing, and I am almost positive Patrick Goldstein falls into that camp, this is an interesting pull:

On a 2005 family Christmas trip to Cuba, traveling under the auspices of religious tourism, my wife, our children and I were received in a private midnight meeting with then-President Fidel Castro and the great Colombian novelist and nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Prior to our departure from the United States, I had sat my children down with documentaries of the Cuban revolution. In particular, my daughter had been offended by the history of oppression toward homosexuals in Cuba, and had made it clear to her father, that if offered the opportunity to meet directly with Castro, she would refuse it. Marquez invited us to his house. We walked in, and there, in the living room alone, sat Fidel Castro. Taken by surprise by the meeting, and being a polite then 14-year old, my daughter took her place in the room and waited her turn to attack.

Fidel grabbed my arm and seated me beside him. He began the conversation questioning my then 12-year old son about the curriculum in his public school. Did he know how far was the earth from the sun? Did he know voltage from kilowatts? The grilling went for a straight half hour, and Castro's demeanor was of the strict grandfather, hiding his affectionate smile behind his lips while demanding knowledge with curiosity. It seemed to me that he could feel my daughter's chilly demeanor. And at just the appropriate moment, still without a word from her, he asked what it is that's bothering her. She answered, "Why do you not offer the same human rights to homosexuals in Cuba as to heterosexuals? Why have you persecuted them?" She was ready for a fight. But no fight was forthcoming. Not even a hint of defensiveness. Castro seemed nothing but impressed with the question, patiently explaining that while homophobia had not been invented in Cuba, it had deep cultural roots, and that he and the revolution had many mistakes as a result. But that there is an evolution involved in the process of change. And while they still made mistakes, there had been tremendous growth. (In 1979, Cuba abolished anti-sodomy laws. Today in Cuba, affirmation of same sex unions is scheduled for 2009, surpassing the pace of U.S. social reforms, and sexual re-assignment surgeries come compliments of the public health service)

It doesn't make anything he did less unforgivable, but I'd rather see a government moving in the right direction, rather than, say, California.

[Dishwasher Philosopher]

Why does the media always make a big deal out of some actor spouting out their meaningless political views?

Nobody cares what Sean Penn thinks.

Nobody cares what Benicio del Toro thinks.

Nobody cares what Bruce Willis thinks.

These are people who are simply unable to have a rational view of the world because they can't see the world in its reality; they're too rich and out of touch! Sean Penn goes on dinner dates with Chavez and now he's an expert in Venezuelan politics and culture? Come on. We shouldn't waste trees printing what these idiots think.

http://dishwasherphilosopher.blogspot.com/