Sean Penn bemoans ‘feminised’ men

Sean Penn thinks men have become “quite feminised”.

The ‘Flag Day’ actor-and-director has hit out at “cowardly genes” and suggested males have changed themselves to please females, but insisted the “strong women” he knows don’t view “masculinity” as a way of “oppressing” them.

He said: “I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminised. 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.”

Sean’s daughter, Dylan Penn, was also present for the interview and went “quiet” and “stared into space” following her father’s comments.

Elsewhere during the interview, the 61-year-old star criticised the “failed citizens” who live in “privileged countries” such as the US and have declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sean – who has “enormous faith” in the vaccination programme – told Independent.co.uk: “Sometimes people take their privilege and freedom as a right to be anti-citizen, to be failed citizens – those who will search out the kind of bogus science that would give them legitimacy [when it comes to] not being vaccinated.”

The ‘Milk’ actor’s non-profit organisation, CORE (Community Organised Relief Effort), was founded in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake but has recently focused efforts on testing and vaccination in the wake of the pandemic, and he’s hopeful they can make a difference.

He said: We plug along. We continually try to educate and to incentivise more people to accept the vaccine. And we advocate for the distribution of vaccines in places where people are hungry for it.”

And while Sean wants people to see ‘Flag Day’ in cinemas, he thinks it’s important theatregoers are vaccinated.

He said: “I mean, what value are we to ask people into a theatre to have a growing experience – or we hope it can be – if their body is being affected in a degraded way?

“So yeah, we all have to be thinking about that and in doing so, get through this so that going to the theatre is not a reluctant experience anymore.”