Sean Penn is once again sparking controversy with a highly questionable assessment of the #MeToo movement.
The actor sat down for an interview with Today on Monday to discuss his new show The First, which recently premiered on Hulu. Host Natalie Morales suggested the sci-fi show's strong women may have been inspired by #MeToo, prompting Penn to say that he hopes that's not the case. The #MeToo movement "was largely shouldered by a kind of receptacle of the salacious," Penn said.
When asked to explain this baffling statement, Penn said that he thinks the "spirit of much of what has been the #MeToo movement is to divide men and women," adding that he doesn't "want it to be a trend." The actor also said that he's "suspicious" of the movement and thinks it should slow down.
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This is not the first time Penn has pushed back against #MeToo, having previously called it "not intellectually honest" in an interview with The Guardian and having defended Charlie Rose, the former CBS anchor who was accused of sexual misconduct by over 30 women. "He says one thing happened; other people said another thing happened," Penn told The Guardian. "I wasn't there." You can watch Penn's new comments on Today below. Brendan Morrow
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