Thandiwe Newton calls Sean Penn a 'jibbering fool' for comments on masculinity in America

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Thandiwe Newton called out Sean Penn over his recent comments about men being too "feminized" in American culture. 

The actor recently doubled down on comments he made to a British newspaper in which he argued that he believes men are finding it fashionable or empowering to adopt more feminine traits and reject masculinity. 

Speaking to The Independent, Penn stated that he believes "cowardly genes" are to blame for what he sees as masculinity becoming vilified in American culture. 

In response, the "Westworld" actress took to Twitter to sound off on Penn by calling him a "jibbering fool." 

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Thandiwe Newton called out Sean Penn for his recent comments on American men. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for CORE - Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

"Dude what are you SAY-ING?? Like for REAL? You’re a jibbering FOOL. MF you used to be sexy but now you’re just tragic," she wrote in a tweet Monday. 

In his latest interview, which he did alongside his daughter, Dylan, Penn held firm to what he previously stated regarding his views on masculinity. 

"I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminised," he stated. "I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them. There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt."

Sean Penn discussed masculinity in American culture. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

In a follow-up tweet, Newton implied that Penn should feel bad for making his statements next to his daughter, who The Independent stated was "quiet" and "stared into space" while her dad sounded off about gender roles. She also implied that he was making the cast and minds behind "Licorice Pizza" look bad as well. 

"In front of your DAUGHTER!? That poor little mite. Thank God her Mum’s so dope. Please stop ruining the brilliance of #LicoricePizza with this nonsense," she wrote. 

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As People notes, Sean Penn hasn’t been shy about sounding off on feminist issues in the past. The outlet notes that he criticized the #MeToo movement in 2018 during an appearance on the "Today" show. At the time, he similarly suggested that placing a divide between men and  women that vilified men is a current trend in U.S. culture. 

Sean Penn was called out by "Westworld" Star Thandiwe Newton. (Presley Ann/Getty Images)

"We don't know what's a fact in many of the cases," he said at the time.

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Penn added: "Salacious is as soon as you call something a movement that is really a series of many individual accusers, victims, accusations, some of which are unfounded. The spirit of much of what has been the #MeToo movement is to divide men and women."