Oh, Sean Penn. I can remember a time when I overlooked your douchey qualities long enough to find you hot. You used to smolder with intensity, you used to smirk, and I found it winning. Not so much anymore. Now, when I look at you, all I see is a once-great actor whose personal life and public statements make it impossible for me to even think one nice thought.
So Sean Penn put away his firearms for two seconds after the Haiti earthquake and took some time out of his busy schedule of bangin’ models, and he brought 11 doctors down to Haiti and helped set up a medical aid center for the thousands of injured Haitians. Good deed, right? Of course. But then Sean has to ruin it with his douche. Sidenote: I said he put away the firearms, but I’m now rethinking that. He could have been ammo’d up in Haiti. But I digress… so, Sean, douche, mouthing off. Here you go:
Sean Penn is slamming cynics who have criticized his recent trip to Haiti.
In January, the actor, 49, brought 11 doctors to the earthquake-hit nation, where he also helped establish a private Haitian relief organization. But some have argued that celebs like Penn should stay out of aid efforts, insisting that stars use tragedy merely to rebuild their public image (Penn recently went through a divorce with actress Robin Wright).
Critics also say that stars’ efforts are hypocritical: They complain about the injustice of others, critics say, only to return to their holiday homes and lavish lifestyles.
But in an interview this weekend on CBS News’ Sunday Morning, Penn says he ignores the negative chatter.
“I guess I’ve been so away from it all– and our tent camp in Haiti that I haven’t had an awful lot of time to pay attention to them,” he says. “You know, do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.”
He said he even plans to get his two children – Hopper Jack, 16 and Dylan, 18 – involved.
“Oh, they’re gonna help,” he says, adding that they even visited Haiti with him. “I think that they’ve had the experience, as I have, that the first person served by service is the server. You know, there’s nobody in the world that isn’t looking for a kind of purpose in life, and tangible purpose is the most immediately recognizable. You know, there’s no time that you’re over there, there’s not something to do to lend a hand.”
Penn says the more than $1 million he brought to Haiti with the help of his friend, businesswoman Diana Jenkins, has been a big help.
“We were able to get X-ray machines, and ventilators, and do all kinds of things,” he says, adding that they literally took suitcases of cash to Haiti.
“We don’t do that anymore,” he says of lugging money around. “We now have a bank account, so– so no one comes up for cash on the ground in Haiti.”
[From Us Weekly]
If only he could handle criticism with some grace, this would be a completely nice and positive story. I admire celebrities (and everyday people) who put their money and time and effort where their mouth is, and I like that Sean went to Haiti and did the work. What I don’t like is that whenever some a-hole says one negative thing (and there will always be some a-hole who has to say something), Sean gets his panties in a bunch and farts out “You know, do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.” And that becomes the sound byte! That’s what everyone will use as their headline – much like I’m doing. Instead of just saying the second sentence – “I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it” – Sean is actually sabotaging the issue he cares about! Ugh.
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