Geraldo Defends Sean Penn: He Was ‘Risking a Lot’ for El Chapo Interview
Geraldo Rivera came to Sean Penn‘s defense today after the actor received much online mockery for his interview of drug kingpin El Chapo before he was recaptured.
Penn got ribbed a little for some of his prose (especially his line about “minor traveler’s flatulence”) and on the fact that, well, it’s an A-list actor interviewing a drug lord while he’s on the loose for Rolling Stone.
But Rivera pushed back a bit on Twitter. He tweeted about just Chapo himself and what his arrest means in the long term:
Like #TeflonDon Gotti #ElChapoArrested because he longed for celebrity Now he must be extradited to spend life 6 stories underground in CO.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 10, 2016
if it hasnt happened already it will soon #ElChapo will be replaced by other drug kingpins as long as USA keep spending billions to get high
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 10, 2016
As for Penn himself, Rivera pushed back on a lot of the criticism he’s received:
It's not a crime or jerky to be a journalist. Remember @JohnMiller & fugitive #BinLaden? Bravo @SeanPenn & #RollingStone on #ElChapo scoop.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 10, 2016
Folks getting mad at Penn cause he got chummy w El Chapo Why?Penn wasnt acting as a journalist he was one risking alot to get huge exclusive
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 10, 2016
Mediaite founder Dan Abrams responded thusly:
Really? Bravo to a "journalist" who gives a vicious criminal veto authority over his piece? https://t.co/x4Ys7SHaxN
— Dan Abrams (@danabrams) January 10, 2016
Giving El Chapo approval power over the report is a subject of much contention today.
[image via screengrab]
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