# Sean Penn thinks he's a journalist
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [January 11, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813 "2016-01-11T14:55:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/21 "2016-01-11T17:57:29Z")
> [@CarnalK](#):
>
> To be honest, I assumed that Penn interviewed el Chapo to research a film project. Writing the article would be just to generate interest in such a project not because he has journalistic aspirations.
I thought the same as you except that he wrote the article only so he’d have the legal cover of being a journalist.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/22 "2016-01-11T18:23:11Z")
Sean Penn is an asshole and they need to change the name of that rag to _Trolling Stone._
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/23 "2016-01-11T18:51:53Z")
> [@Ravenman](#):
>
> So, Sean Penn, thanks for fucking it all up.
Actually we legitimately should, since he fucked up El Chapo in the process ;). His shitty article and ego massage turned out to be law enforcement’s gain. We should send him to interview all the in-hiding scumbags out there so they can then be traced and rounded up.
Oh and Penn really is a great actor, even in lesser films ( check out his transformation in _Carlito’s Way_ ). But I’m pretty certain I’d find him sorta insufferable in person. But heck, I also worship at the altar of Gary Oldman’s talent and he seems to be a bit of a douche himself.
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/24 "2016-01-11T20:55:41Z")
> [@davida03801](#):
>
> I am always amused by actors and actresses getting involved in politics. Most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers.
Snerk. For example #2, see Cher’s recent tweet calling Gov. Snyder of Michigan a murderer because of the Flint water crisis. Uh, Cher, honey? Nobody has died as a result of the water crisis, so neither the governor nor anybody else is murderer. Stop smoking crack before you tweet.
As for Sean Penn, I’m seriously wondering if we will soon hear that Mr. Penn has committed suicide. By shooting himself 50 times with at least half a dozen different weapons :eek: . I mean, it seems to me that the possability for “blowback” is fairly high. Then again, if it does happen, Penn really has nobody but himself to blame, because I very much doubt his reasons were anything other than self-serving.
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/25 "2016-01-11T22:01:41Z")
Does Penn say how he managed to find this guy who was supposed to be in hiding?
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/26 "2016-01-11T22:22:40Z")
If this forces Sean Penn to got into hiding I’d say this is a net positive.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/27 "2016-01-11T22:31:17Z")
I hear that Penn is now under investigation by Mexican authorities. The whole thing is just incredibly strange.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/28 "2016-01-11T23:10:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> I hear that Penn is now under investigation by Mexican authorities.
For what? It’s not illegal to talk to a fugitive.
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/29 "2016-01-12T00:07:53Z")
Best Internet quote of the day:
> [@](#):
>
> ```
> “ONLY SEAN PENN CAN INTERVIEW A MURDERING DRUG KINGPIN AND SOMEHOW COME OFF LOOKING LIKE THE DOUCHEBAG OF THE PIECE".
>
> ```
>
> —[Dan Szymborski](https://twitter.com/DSzymborski/status/686064136564916224), ESPN.
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### Author:  [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/30 "2016-01-12T02:09:07Z")
I heard that El Chapo is very into Hollywood and Celebrities, so I find myself wondering who initiated contact.
Sean Penn is a very good actor. I have always defended him to my husband, who thinks he’s an asshole, but it’s getting harder to do.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/31 "2016-01-12T02:29:15Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#):
>
> I heard that El Chapo is very into Hollywood and Celebrities, so I find myself wondering who initiated contact.
I’ve always thought Chapo did, in hope of having a movie made about him.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/32 "2016-01-12T04:51:10Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#):
>
> For what? It’s not illegal to talk to a fugitive.
My understanding is that the illegality would stem from knowing where a fugitive is and not reporting it. This dude was undoubtedly the most wanted fugitive in Mexico.
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### Author:  [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/33 "2016-01-12T06:29:09Z")
> [@Steophan](#):
>
> From that description the article is as good as his acting.
Oh, come one. He may be a douchebag, but the man is a talented actor.
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### Author:  [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/34 "2016-01-12T07:13:32Z")
Wow, what an asshole Sean Penn must be.
He risked his life, for whatever reason, to give us a rare insight into one of the most elusive characters in the criminal underworld today. Actually, the worlds most wanted man, if you will.
As for the “mental masturbation” part of the story is what he had to go through to get to the guy, and he chose to tell that in first person perspective. I’ve NEVER read an article like that before. Guess you never heard of gonzo journalism?
Its clear you just hate Sean Penn, and I get it, theres a lot of unlikeable things about the guy. Im not nominating him for the Pulitzer Prize, but what he did here is quite remarkable and I was quite entertained by the narrative, however amateur it might have been.
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### Author:  [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/35 "2016-01-12T08:18:58Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#):
>
> Does Penn say how he managed to find this guy who was supposed to be in hiding?
During the time after El Chapo had escaped (I believe) the first time, a Mexican actress (who I remember as Pilar from the show _Weeds_) had made some comments on Twitter critical of the the Mexican government and blurted that she trusted El Chapo more than them, and suggested that El Chapo should instead just try to traffic in peace, love, and justice or some such drivel. (Seriously, that’s a pretty accurate paraphrase… I’m saving up my quotage.)
Anyway, El Chapo gets wind of the tweet (no, he does not do Twitter) and sends her some flowers. A few years later, when he’s locked up in the prison he would later get tunneled out of, he decided to get the jump on all the Hollywood types clamoring to tell his story, and decided that he should do an authorized deal, so had his lawyer reach out to Pilar from _Weeds_. (Oh crap, now I’m even boring myself… fast forward!)
So Sean Penn, being Sean Penn, hears through a mutual associate (Espinoza) that Pilar from _Weeds_ (who he doesn’t know) is in communication with El Chapo, who is now on the run after tunneling out of the prison he was still in a second ago. And since Penn’s all about pursuing dialogue with pariahs, he spontaneously pitched a proposal for a “magazine story” (that’s a quote) and a real killer selfie. (that’s not)
Anyway, my guess is that Penn and Pilar from _Weeds_ probably had no idea that one or both of their mutual acquaintances and companions on the journey were informants or operatives for Mexican and/or American law enforcement, who probably knew about the whole thing before they ever left the US and tracked them the whole way.
[Penn’s description of Espinoza:](http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/el-chapo-speaks-20160109)
> [@](#):
>
> I’m sitting in my room at the St. Regis Hotel with my colleague and brother in arms, Espinoza.
> Espinoza and I have traveled many roads together, but none as unpredictable as the one we are now approaching. Espinoza is the owl who flies among falcons. Whether he’s standing in the midst of a slum, a jungle or a battlefield, his idiosyncratic elegance, mischievous smile and self-effacing charm have a way of defusing threat. His bald head demands your attention to his twinkling eyes. He’s a man fascinated and engaged. We whisper to each other in code. Finally a respite from the cyber technology that’s been sizzling my brain and soul.
[Penn’s description of El Alto:](http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/el-chapo-speaks-20160109)
> [@](#):
>
> Now on 50th Street, Espinoza and I enter the Japanese restaurant. El Alto sits alone in a quiet corner, beneath a slow-turning ceiling fan that circulates the scent of raw fish. He’s a big man, quiet and graceful, rarely speaking above a whisper. He’d been helpful to me on many previous excursions. He’s worldly, well connected and liked. Espinoza, speaking in Spanish, fills him in on our plans and itinerary. El Alto listens intently, squeezing edamame beans one at a time between his teeth. We considered this meeting our point of no return. We were either all in, or we would abandon the journey. We had weighed the risks, but I felt confident and said so. I’d offered myself to experiences beyond my control in numerous countries of war, terror, corruption and disaster. Places where what can go wrong will go wrong, had gone wrong, and yet in the end, had delivered me in one piece with a deepening situational awareness (though not a perfect science) of available cautions within the design in chaos.
Oh god, now I’m sorry for making you read that… but you get the drift.
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/36 "2016-01-12T11:51:03Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#):
>
> Sean Penn is a very good actor. I have always defended him to my husband, who thinks he’s an asshole, but it’s getting harder to do.
One can be a great actor AND an asshole, as many great actors have demonstrated; indeed, finding a great actor who isn’t one seems to be harder.
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### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/37 "2016-01-12T14:10:14Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#):
>
> Wow, what an asshole Sean Penn must be.
> He risked his life, for whatever reason, to give us a rare insight into one of the most elusive characters in the criminal underworld today. Actually, the worlds most wanted man, if you will.
Yes, I said in the OP that this was a potentially compelling news story.
> [@](#):
>
> As for the “mental masturbation” part of the story is what he had to go through to get to the guy, and he chose to tell that in first person perspective. I’ve NEVER read an article like that before. Guess you never heard of gonzo journalism?
Look, you immature snot-nosed know-it-all, Hunter Thompson wrote compelling stories. This Sean Penn piece is crap. There is no redeeming quality to it. It’s like Penn was lined up for a penalty kick to win the championship, and wrote a piece about how he came to get the sponsorship for his Nike soccer shoes. He totally fucked up the story because of his poor writing, and Rolling Stone should have had the guts to fix this abortion of journalism.
> [@](#):
>
> Its clear you just hate Sean Penn, and I get it, theres a lot of unlikeable things about the guy. Im not nominating him for the Pulitzer Prize, but what he did here is quite remarkable and I was quite entertained by the narrative, however amateur it might have been.
It’s clear that you have an overwhelming need to be an asshole in every thread you participate in.
Look, I’m sorry your childhood was shit, but you have no need to work out your anger issues on everyone else. Go get therapy and learn to be a halfway normal person.
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### Author:  [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/38 "2016-01-12T15:23:01Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#):
>
> Oh, come one. He may be a douchebag, but the man is a talented actor.
It may just be my taste, but I’ve liked him. He overacts and over-emotes to an extent that I find it impossible to forget that I’m watching a performance. For comparison, watch Mystic River and compare the styles of Penn and Tim Robbins - someone I do consider a masterful actor.
Penn may have talent, but to my mind he uses it to show off rather than to portray a character well, or make a great film (he’s been in several great films, but in most of them I’ve felt they were great despite him). Compare to Nicolas Cage, who is capable of just as much overacting but mostly only does so in crap or silly films (and on the increasingly rare occasions he’s in a good film tones it way down), or Daniel Day Lewis, who can when necessary give some of the largest performances anyone’s ever given on screen, but is also capable of great subtlety, as well as disappearing into a character more than almost anyone else.
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/39 "2016-01-12T15:33:09Z")
Thanks **voltaire**. I hope you didn’t pass out from all the cringing.
Even if Sean Penn is a self-serving douche, he still accomplished something remarkable. Maybe this is a tactic police can use when they hunt fugitives in the future. Get a Hollywood personality to publicly proclaim they want to make a movie about the fugitive and see if vanity prevails over secrecy.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-penn-thinks-hes-a-journalist/742813/40 "2016-01-12T15:44:06Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#):
>
> Thanks **voltaire**. I hope you didn’t pass out from all the cringing.
>
> Even if Sean Penn is a self-serving douche, he still accomplished something remarkable. Maybe this is a tactic police can use when they hunt fugitives in the future. Get a Hollywood personality to publicly proclaim they want to make a movie about the fugitive and see if vanity prevails over secrecy.
I had this vision that the FBI came to Penn, he volunteered to help and be a great American Citizen, and the public will never know and he’ll just get shat on till the day he dies (or fesses up, which will probably be a few days before he dies because…el cheapo).
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