Growing old is more-or-less a sin in Hollywood, but 61-year-old Sean Penn isn’t mad about it. In a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, the actor said he was happy to grow old so he won’t have to deal with the world’s increasingly apocalyptic future.
“I’m a little frustrated with the world,” Penn said. “I’m glad I’m old and won’t be having to deal with where this stuff is going.”
Penn’s misanthropic comments seemed to be inspired by so-called cancel culture, as he went on to denounce those who pick and choose issues to be upset about.
“We give too much of a shit about what we are going to be accused of by people who want to be self-righteous because they can get a quick reward,” Penn said. “And they’re self-righteous hypocritically — they damn this, but don’t worry about why kids are being bombed in Yemen, because it’s not getting them into a club right away.”
Penn has never been shy about his political beliefs. Back in July, he refused to resume shooting the Starz series Gaslit until every cast and crew member was vaccinated against COVID-19. Before that, he chided the “salacious” #MeToo movement because it “divides men and women.”
More recently, he directed the film Flag Day, a drama based on Jennifer Vogel’s 2004 memoir Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History. Starring Penn and his daughter Dylan, the film tells the story of Vogel’s charming father, the bank robber and conman John Vogel. In keeping with the film’s father-daughter theme, its soundtrack features contributions from Eddie Vedder and his daughter Olivia, as well as Cat Power and Glen Hansard.
