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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