Sean Penn. At least, he gets the Idiot Celebrity of the Week award, after he spent a day touring Venezuela with Hugo Chavez, finally proclaiming the country "a great place". Sean Penn loves to complain about our own president's many shortcomings, but his idolization of our revolutionary enemy is inexcusable. Penn does not seem to be troubled by Chavez's harrassment of opposition leaders, his frightening treatment of the media, and his attempts to change the country's constitution so that he can keep the presidency indefinitely. How a totalitarian leader who regularly "disappears" journalists who oppose him can be lauded by anyone living in a democratic society is beyond me; then again, this is from the man who, in a jealous rage, left his wife tied to a chair for 3 hours and reportedly force-fed her dog food. Penn should stick to what he does best - turning out award winning acting performances - and leave the politics to someone more qualified.
While Penn is entitled to his opinion, using his celebrity to endorse Chavez's dictatorial leadership of Venezuela is ridiculous. However, he is hardly the first to applaud the man - recent visits by Naomi Campbell and Danny Glover ended in a similar fashion. What is it about celebrities who believe they are entitled to use their popularity in this way? It's baffling. One can only hope they someday realize the extent to which they have been used.
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