Director Michael Moore has been catching hell for implying the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was a coward. Kyle, the subject of the hit movie “American Sniper” and credited with more kills than any soldier in American history, seemed to be the subject of a tweet Sunday from Moore saying:
My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 18, 2015
After receiving blowback, Moore returned to Twitter to attempt to deflect critics.
Hmm. I never tweeted 1word bout AmericanSniper/ChrisKyle. I said my uncle killed by sniper in WWII; only cowards would do that 2 him, others
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 19, 2015
So ppl want me 2tweet something bout American Sniper? Great acting! Powerful message. Sad ending. There. My FB post: https://t.co/By4leT6b67
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 19, 2015
Oh, and Iraqis are called "savages" throughout the film.
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 19, 2015
Sorry to have to state the obvious again: Invading a country that hasn't attacked you is illegal & immoral. History will judge us harshly.
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 19, 2015
Moore also tweeted a link to his Facebook page where he painted himself as the victim of the media taking his words out of context. Writing the media “turned that into stories about how I don’t like Clint Eastwood’s new film, ‘American Sniper.’ I didn’t say a word about ‘American Sniper’ in my tweets.” According to Moore, he wasn’t thinking of the biggest movie in the country called “American Sniper,” he was thinking of Martin Luther King. His post starts, “Lots of talk about snipers this weekend (the holiday weekend of a great man, killed by a sniper), so I thought I’d weigh in with what I was raised to believe about snipers.” So what does Moore (allegedly) think of the movie “American Sniper”? Here’s his review:
Awesome performance from Bradley Cooper. One of the best of the year. Great editing. Costumes, hair, makeup superb! Oh… and too bad Clint gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling. And that he has his characters calling Iraqis “savages” throughout the film. But there is also anti-war sentiment expressed in the movie. And there’s a touching ending as the main character is remembered after being gunned down by a fellow American vet with PTSD who was given a gun at a gun range back home in Texas — and then used it to kill the man who called himself the ‘America Sniper’. Also, best movie trailer and TV ads of the year.
Unable to let it go, Moore needed to take one more swipe at Kyle, the movie and those who appreciate what the military does. He ended his post with:
Most of us were taught the story of Jesse James and that the scoundrel wasn’t James (who was a criminal who killed people) but rather the sniper who shot him in the back. I think most Americans don’t think snipers are heroes. Hopefully not on this weekend when we remember that man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was killed by a sniper’s bullet.