Actress Kate del Castillo slams Sean Penn over details in El Chapo story that 'did not occur'

Kate del Castillo speaks out against Sean Penn article.
(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

It was a seemingly inconsequential tweet that brought together Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and the notorious drug lord El Chapo. "Mr. Chapo, wouldn't it be cool if you started trafficking with the good? ... Come on señor, you would be the hero of heroes. Let's traffic with love, you know how," she posted in January of 2012.

While a relative unknown in the States, del Castillo made a name for herself in Mexico for her hugely popular role as a drug trafficker in The Queen of the South; both her tweet and her role earned her the attention and respect of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug lord known as "El Chapo." Not long after her post, representatives for El Chapo got in touch with del Castillo about giving her the rights to El Chapo's life story, with the hope of del Castillo starring in the ensuing film.

Which is where Sean Penn got involved.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Penn authored a 10,000 word essay for Rolling Stone earlier this year about traveling with del Castillo to meet El Chapo — an essay that was widely criticized for being both totally insane and ethically dubious. While previously only Sean Penn's side of the story was available, del Castillo has since spoken to The New Yorker, raising further questions about Penn's motivations:

The final version [of Penn's article] included this addition: "And then, as it seems we are at the entrance of Oz, the highest peak visibly within reach, we arrive at a military checkpoint. Two uniformed government soldiers, weapons at the ready, approach our vehicle. Alfredo lowers his passenger window; the soldiers back away, looking embarrassed, and wave us through. Wow. So it is, the power of a Guzmán face. And the corruption of an institution." This scene, del Castillo maintains, did not occur: they didn't go through any military checkpoint, much less one where government soldiers waved them on. Sulichin and Ibáñez, who were in the car ahead of del Castillo and Penn, also have no recollection of encountering a military checkpoint. (Penn maintains that his version is correct.) [The New Yorker]

That's not the only discrepancy — and, what's more, Penn allegedly hadn't even been transparent about being on the trip to work on an article in the first place. Read the entire scoop in The New Yorker.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.