Amid the uproar, Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, 65, offered a surprisingly measured and somber take. In an interview with the New York Times, the One Battle After Another star condemned Kirk’s killing while emphasizing the need for open political dialogue, even between fierce ideological opponents.
“It seems different than the members of Congress. It seems different than the insurance executive. It seems even different than the attempt on the president. There’s something about this one,” said the I am Sam star, who in 2021 called the Trump administration “obscene” for “gunning down communities that were most vulnerable from a turret at the White House” during Covid-19.
“I didn’t get the sense that he was one of these snake oil salesmen. I think we need that guy. We need that debate. We’ve gotta fight it out and find a compromise. These things do come into fashion, and the way we kill the fashion of it is people of conscience on both sides recognizing that if somebody really believes something, that’s your friend,” the award-winning actor said.
‘Coming into fashion’
In a separate interview with Vanity Fair, the Mystic River star went further, saying he was “still processing,” and concerned about the “implications” of Kirk’s assassination.
“I was not surprised at all,” he told Vanity Fair less than 24 hours after Kirk was killed. “Like a lot of people, I’ve been worrying that this kind of horror was moving towards coming into fashion.”
He added, “It’s disturbing enough that I would say I’m still processing it. And what its implications are.”
