Image via Wikipedia

If you are an actor and you have a history of taking political stands and making controversial comments, you had better be prepared for a reporter to ask you about said controversial comments.

In this case, it was our friends at The Washington Examiner who had one of their reporters thrown out of a press conference with actor Sean Penn for asking him about comments he made while in Haiti.

When asked on CBS‘ “Sunday Morning” about those who question his motives for his humanitarian work in Haiti, he said:

“Do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.”

FOXNews.com – Sean Penn Wants Reporters Jailed for Calling Chavez ‘Dictator’

So at a recent event hosted by the Washington Hebrew Congregation, a reporter for The Examiner’s Yeas and Nays column asked Penn about his comment. The following occurred:

“You know, I think that you are investing in a culture that I am not interested in. And you should go your way,” Penn said to the reporter, when she said her question was related to his involvement in Haiti.

(Publicity coordinator C.J.) Jordan ended the interview, and publicly scolded the reporter outside of the media room. Jordan told the reporter that to keep her job, she needed to write a letter of apology to the Haitian ambassador. The publicity coordinator then threatened to have the reporter escorted out of the building by the police.

“You desecrated this sacred place,” Jordan said.

The congregation’s Rabbi Bruce Lustig attempted to take the reporter’s recording device and delete the material. The reporter was approached by police and threatened to be escorted out, even though she responded calmly and exited quickly.

Yeas & Nays reporter booted from Sean Penn event | Washington Examiner

As a matter of full disclosure I occasionally write an Op/Ed column for The Examiner. All I really have to add to the above story is this: If you want to pretend to be a politician then you need to answer a few questions. Who was the villain: the reporter throwing your words back in your face, or you for saying the words in the first place?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Penn slams those who question his Haiti aid (msnbc.msn.com)