'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

[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/

[Humberto Capiro]

If you want to know more about the cocentration camps for gay and polital dissients in Cuba by Fidel and Raul Castro rent the documentary "Improper Conduct" which includes an interview of Reinaldo Arenas the late great gay cuban writer portrayed by Javier Bardem (who was nominated for best actor) in the Julian Schnabel film "Before Night Falls"! And get the soundtrack which is FANTASTIC!

Humberto Capiro
Cuban at Large in The Arts (

Improper Cunduct Documentary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improper_Conduct

[George S]

Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected president of Venezuela. To refer to him as a dictator because he is a leftist and stands against the US on many issues is intellectually irresponsible and factually wrong. Absolutely fascinating in the Advocate artible is this gem from the US State Dept describing Chavez administration as undemocratic: “unlawful killings; disappearances reportedly involving security forces; torture and abuse of detainees; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detentions; a corrupt, inefficient, and politicized judicial system characterized by trial delays, impunity, and violations of due process; searches without warrants of private homes; official intimidation and attacks on the independent media; government-promoted anti-Semitism; widespread corruption at all levels of government."

Now, that's comedy. Did the US State Dept. cut and paste it's description of Venuzuela from its own resume?

[onid]

Upon further thought, this reminds me of the skit from the Dave Chapelle show where people are asking political opinions from Ja Rule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C08J_G5ml4E

The success of caviar socialist Sean Penn and other bourgeois rich actors, is a direct antithesis to whatever ramblings they spout. They try to double dip, but their gross and offensive earnings, plus the industry they support, kill all of their legitimacy.

For the Chavez apologists:

I agree with what he claims to do for the poor (the lack of nonpartisan, non government,non transparency data makes it hard for me to make a proper judgement of what he's doing...as what he is "doing" is a a very politicized issue), but you can do those things without creating a potential facsimile of Cuba. He's still attempting to erase election terms, but his approach to creating lifelong rule is softer, thus provoking a kid gloves response from idealists looking for a new hero to make into an earth tone spraypaint stencil.

[Rodrigo]

Someone should have told the author that Cuba currently has one of the most progressive gay rights movements in all of Latin America. Their National Assembly is currently studying a proposal to legalize civil unions. They already give free surgery to transsexuals.

This isn't 30 years ago. News shouldn't be traveling THAT slow where you are.

[Rodrigo]

Someone should have told the author that Cuba currently has one of the most progressive gay rights movements in all of Latin America. Their National Assembly is currently studying a proposal to legalize civil unions. They already give free surgery to transsexuals.

This isn't 30 years ago. News shouldn't be traveling THAT slow where you are.