An interview that i News UK published with Sean Penn earlier this month is gaining new attention now that the acclaimed actor is doubling down on his remarks about gender. Penn is an accomplished actor with several awards under his belt, but it wasn’t his career or accolades that caused him to become a trending topic. Penn recently spoke about how he believes that men, especially in America, have become “feminized.”
“I am in the club that believes that men in American culture have become wildly feminized,” Penn told i News UK. “I don’t think that being a brute or having insensitivity or disrespect for women is anything to do with masculinity, or ever did. But I don’t think that [in order] to be fair to women, we should become them.”
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The comments went unnoticed but in a more recent chat with The Independent, Penn was asked if he would like to clarify his statements. He didn’t stray far from his original answer.
“I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminized,” said the actor. “I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them. There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt.”
Reactions are flooding social media platforms in real-time, so check out a few below and let us know if you agree with Penn.