Sean Penn might be one of the biggest lefties in Hollywood, but even he’s fed up with the industry’s not-so-secret gay agenda.
Penn is a famed climate nut, rivaled perhaps only by Leo and Clooney. His weird “vanity project” on Volodymyr Zelenskyy early in the Ukraine war had even the corporate press scratching their heads. And of course, one of his best known roles is that of LGBT activist Harvey Milk, for which he won an Oscar.
But in a gushing profile for The New York Times, he responded “no” when asked if he could play a gay character like Milk again.
“It could not happen in a time like this,” Penn told The Times. “It’s a time of tremendous overreach. It’s a timid and artless policy toward the human imagination.”
He’s slamming Hollywood for being too obsessed with reality-based casting. Have a straight actor play a gay character, and the whole project is sure to invite a media lecture on “real representation.”
It’s a refreshing acknowledgement from Penn, but it doesn’t go far enough. It’s not just the casting that’s “timid and artless,” it’s the writing, directing and marketing.
It seems like every new movie today subordinates its storyline to some sort of diversity push. Directors and writers can’t just focus on telling a great story; they must make sure that all sorts of ethnic, sexual and religious minorities get their share of the spotlight. What you end up with is shows like Disney’s new Star Wars spin-off, “The Acolyte,” where lesbian space witches use the force to get pregnant. Who actually winds up playing these roles is the least of the industry’s problems.
When films are made with Diversity as the guiding light, what you end up with isn’t art, but ham-handed political propaganda.
Penn gets so close, but remains so far.
