(Headline USA) Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has been one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Ukrainian military and its controversial, Nazi-linked Azov Battalion.
On Friday, the notoriously hot-headed celebrity and conflict tourist hinted that his own anti-Semitism may be at the root of it, deploying a bigoted trope that likened Hollywood producers to “bankers.”
Both professions are considered in frequently recurring stereotypes to be disproportionately Jewish.
Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.
“The first thing we should do in these conversations is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the Bankers Guild,” Penn said in the dog-whistle remark.
“It’s difficult for so many writers and so many people industry-wide to not be able to work at this time,” he continued. “I guess it’s going to soul-search itself and see what side toughs it out.”
The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, which some consider to be a boon for the overly woke entertainment industry, has revolved around a dispute over artificial intelligence.
Penn, an averred anti-capitalist, accused the industry of “upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time” during a press conference for his new film, Black Flies.
“There’s a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of A.I.,” he said. “It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers.”
The WGA is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of AI-scripted work-arounds.
Penn’s comments come as the potential for a wider work stoppage in Hollywood may be growing. The Directors Guild is also negotiating a new contract with producers. The board of SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, this week voted to ask members for strike authorization as it prepares to enter negotiations for a new contract.
In Cannes, the strike been a regular topic for American stars. On Thursday, Ethan Hawke wore a shirt that read “Pencils Down.”
On the festival’s opening day Tuesday, juror Paul Dano said he planned to join his wife, Zoe Kazan, on the picket lines soon.
“My wife is currently picketing with my 6-month-old, strapped to her chest,” said Dano. “I will be there on the picket line when I get back home.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
