Sean Penn has reportedly tried to block or edit a Netflix documentary that suggests he told authorities that he was meeting drug kingpin El Chapo prior to his capture.
The documentary, which is set to be released on Friday, apparently includes interviews with some people who suggest the Hollywood actor ratted out El Chapo to the US Department of Justice, TMZ reports.
They claim Penn told the DOJ that he was traveling to a secret location in Mexico to interview El Chapo for his now infamous Rolling Stone article.
The interviews feature in the documentary – The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story – which includes details of the meeting and background on what led to Penn’s article.
Sean Penn has reportedly tried to block or edit a Netflix documentary that suggests he told authorities that he was meeting drug kingpin El Chapo prior to his capture. They are pictured together in October 2015
Several of Penn’s lawyers have reportedly been in contact with Netflix multiple times to pressure them to edit out any reference that he contacted the DOJ prior to the meeting.
TMZ obtained an email from the executive producer of the film, David Broome, in which he seemingly details his concerns about pressure from Penn.
‘My concern is that we are taking an immense amount of pressure from all directions related to Sean Penn and currently Netflix has done a great job of hanging tough… but their nerves are on edge,’ he wrote.
‘I’m worried that there’s a chance Netflix hits the brakes for a while.’
Actress Kate del Castillo, Penn and two producers met with the drug kingpin back in October 2015 at a secret location organized by El Chapo.
Three months later after the meeting, El Chapo was captured during a shootout that killed five of his associates. El Chapo was extradited to the US in January
Actress Kate del Castillo features in the documentary titled The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story. She had arranged for Penn to meet with El Chapo for a film she had been planning
Actress Kate del Castillo, Penn and two producers met with the drug kingpin back in October 2015 at a secret location organized by El Chapo. Above is a scene from the documentary scheduled to be released on Friday
Mexican authorities raided the site soon after they met by El Chapo had already fled.
Three months later after the meeting, El Chapo was captured during a shootout that killed five of his associates.
Penn’s infamous interview was published a day later in Rolling Stone.
The actor is trying to edit the documentary because he is concerned he will be targeted by El Chapo’s people if they think he aided his capture.
‘It is reprehensible that, in their ongoing, relentless efforts to gain additional attention and publicity, Ms del Castillo and her team (who have zero firsthand knowledge) have sought to create this profoundly false, foolish, and reckless narrative,’ Penn’s spokesman Mark Fabiani said.
The drug kingpin had agreed to be interviewed by Penn in a meeting that was set up by del Castillo. The actress, who had been secretly conversing with El Chapo for months, had got Penn involved because she was making a film about the infamous drug lord
‘The notion that Mr Penn or anyone on his behalf alerted DOJ to the trip is a complete fabrication and bald-faced lie. It never happened, nor would there have been any reason for it to have happened.’
El Chapo was extradited to the US in January.
The drug kingpin had agreed to be interviewed by Penn in a meeting that was set up by del Castillo.
del Castillo, who had been secretly conversing with El Chapo for months, had got Penn involved because she was making a film about the infamous drug lord.
It was the first and only interview the Sinaloa cartel leader granted after escaping from a maximum security prison through a tunnel just months earlier.