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Jonathan Van Ness Says Sean Penn’s Comments On Masculinity Are ‘Devoid Of Intelligence’

By Corey Atad.

Jonathan Van Ness, Sean Penn

Jonathan Van Ness, Sean Penn — Photo: Shutterstock

Jonathan Van Ness has some words for Sean Penn.

Last month, in an interview with U.K. outlet The i, Penn courted controversy with comments on the subject of gender and masculinity.

READ MORE: Sean Penn Thinks Men ‘Have Become Quite Feminized’: ‘There Are Cowardly Genes That Lead To People Surrendering Their Jeans And Putting On A Skirt’

“I am in the club that believes that men in American culture have become wildly feminized,” he said.

In another interview with the Independent last week, the actor added, “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.”

On Wednesday, Van Ness tweeted out a response to Penn’s comments, based on a screencap of a Daily Mail story about what the actor said, which included an image of the “Queer Eye” star in a dress.

“First of all Im non binary,” Van Ness wrote, adding that the actor’s remarks were “ignorant, transphobic, and devoid of intelligence.”

They added that Penn is “suffering from toxic masculinity.”

READ MORE: Thandiwe Newton Calls Sean Penn A ‘Jibbering Fool’ For ‘Wildly Feminized’ Comments

Penn’s comments also received criticism from others, including actress Thandiwe Newton, who called him a “jibbering FOOL” who “used to be sexy” but is now “just tragic.”

Some also called Penn out for his comments, noting that he won an Oscar for Best Actor for playing a gay rights icon in the film “Milk”.

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