Penn under fire, Macau case recalled

Madonna, left, and Sean Penn arrive at the 5th Annual Sean Penn & Friends HELP HAITI HOME Gala Benefiting at the Montage Hotel on Saturday in Beverly Hills, California

Sean Penn has come under heavy fire from the media, which claims that his account of the meeting with “El Chapo” is “too sympathetic” to a man believed to be a mass-­murderer and that his “rag-­to-riches” version of the cartel leader’s narrative whitewashes his past.
As the 55-year-old actor made the news this week, some media outlets were recalling earlier incidents that allegedly reveal Penn’s violent past.
In 1986, while in Macau shooting “Shanghai Surprise” with his then-wife Madonna, Penn was arrested by police for dangling a Portuguese journalist off his hotel balcony after discovering him hiding in the room.
While his marriage to Madonna involved at least one incident of domestic abuse, he also allegedly fired guns at a helicopter during his wedding reception with the pop star.
The actor, who holds some controversial left-­leaning opinions on world politics, has also reportedly said that he hopes his critics “die screaming of rectal cancer.”
In light of his violent history and the events that unfolded this week resulting in the capture of El Chapo, the Daily Mail’s Ian Birrell mockingly remarked: “In his mind, however, he is an aid worker, diplomat and peacemaker, as well as a reporter.”