Bill Maher: “Hollywood Is a Bunch of F***Ing Cowards”
Sean Penn might be the most well-known liberal in Hollywood.
Although stars such as Amy Schumer, Mark Ruffalo, and Natalie Portman have been singing from the progressive hymnal for decades, Penn is not one of them. While he opposed the Iraq War among other left-ofcenter causes, Penn’s ties with Hugo Chavez make his a cultural warrior for Left.
Penn was a partner with Bill Maher The latest episode of “Club Random.” The “Mystic River” actor didn’t do it willingly, but when prodded by Maher he offered several reasons to fear the woke revolution.
Penn was able to identify the reason for this. He claimed that his 2009 Oscar Night win for “Milk” wouldn’t be possible today.
Why?
Penn is straight. Harvey Milk, the LGBTQ icon, would only be permitted to be played by gay actors today.
For the uninitiated: “Club Random” isn’t as politically charged as Maher’s “Real Time” HBO showcase. The 67-year old tries to reach across the aisle with the podcast, looking for commonalities and avoiding hot-button disputes when possible.
And, for anyone listening to the Maher-Penn exchange, it’s clear their off-screen friendship is old and secure.
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Penn and Maher had a lot of cultural discussions, sometimes agreeing to disagree in the areas where they diverge. Maher tried to press Penn on his feelings for Chavez, the late Venezuelan leader.
Penn tried hard to establish his friendship with the dictator.
The pair found common ground by bemoaning how many classic films couldn’t be made today thanks to the new woke climate. Penn mentioned the 1975 classic. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Maher joked that any possible remake would feature Amy Schumer in Jack Nicholson’s role.
Both men praised Schumer later.
They also celebrated unwoke comics such as Dave Chappelle or Bill Burr, whom Penn said helped him through the pandemic lockdowns.
“It was a sanity keeper to the degree I can keep my sanity,” Penn said. “I’m not even in a world where I have to agree or disagree. I just have to see authenticity.”
“At some point, that movement veered into authoritarianism,” Maher said of woke’s transformation from old-fashioned liberalism to restricting core freedoms.
“I’ve got news for the woke … you can’t find that thought when you’re 150 meters from the Russians … you are not going to remember all the pronouns,” Penn said.
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Maher suggested that Penn should speak out more on woke overreach due to his celebrity status within Hollywood.
Maher suggested that if a two time Oscar winner and someone from the Left did it, it could transform the culture.
“You walk the walk,” Maher said of Penn, alluding to the actor’s ability to visit hot spots, like treks to Haiti and Ukraine, over the years. “You’re uniquely qualified to call out the woke. It’s almost a responsibility.”
BOB HONEY, WHO JUST DOS STUFF: Penn is a noted actor and director who tries fiction. He does it quite well. There’s not much clef in Penn’s debut roman, although his protagonist, the titular Bob Honey, does log a little time visiting New… https://t.co/wQ87WgSNPO pic.twitter.com/HUuXjnylSF
— J.S. Sterling (@JSSterlingBooks). March 30, 2018
Penn sabotages a press tour in support of his latest novel. “Bob Honey Who Just Does Stuff,” Protesters decried the #MeToo movement criticisms. As part of the tour, the actor spoke at universities to explain why one of his career highlights may not be possible anymore.
His Best Actor honors for 2008’s “Milk.”
“Were that film made today I couldn’t play that part,” He said.
They stayed on the topic of higher education, which Maher frequently discusses on his HBO series.
“Colleges are supposed to be about scholars and free speech and opening your mind. Now, it’s about, ‘you can’t say this, how dare you?’” Maher said.
“Not only that, it’s, ‘you can’t teach at this high a level, how dare you,’” Penn spoke of a New York University professor that was fired. making a course too difficult.
Later, the actor politely demurred on Maher’s call for him to speak up more on the issue, suggesting he lacked that cultural cache to make a difference.
After their lengthy chat, Penn and Maher defended Woody Allen from accusations that he had molested Dylan Farrow’s child, Penn. They explained why Allen is unlikely to be guilty of the charges, and they chastised actors for turning on Allen after years spent begging for roles in his movies.
“Hollywood is a bunch of f***ing cowards,” Before softening his tone, Maher stated. “I love ‘em. I love show business… the default setting for anyone in show business is a complete idiot … especially actors”
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