Jibbering fool: Thandiwe Newton slams Sean Penn for 'men being too feminised' statement

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British star Thandiwe Newton has criticised Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn for his recent comments that American men are becoming "wildly feminised". Penn, who won Oscar trophies for "The Milk" and "Mystic River", had late last month raised eyebrows after he said that being masculine is not always toxic.

Newton posted a retort on social media, calling the 61-year-old actor a "jibbering fool". "@SeanPenn Dude what are you SAY-ING?? Like for REAL? You’re a jibbering FOOL. you used to be sexy but now you’re just tragic," she wrote alongside a link to an article about Penn's remarks. "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 added.

Penn first made the remarks during an interview with an American newspaper. "I am in the club that believes that men in American culture have become wildly feminized. I don’t think that being a brute or having insensitivity or disrespect for women is anything to do with masculinity, or ever did. But I don’t think that (in order) to be fair to women, we should become them," he had said.

Later, in another interview with British publication The Independent, the actor was asked to clarify his comments. "I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminised. 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," he said.

At the time, he was promoting his film "Flag Day" alongside his daughter, Dylan Penn. The Independent in its article stated that Penn's statement on men becoming "quite feminised" left his daughter "quiet, staring into space".