Actor Sam Elliott has issued a public apology for saying some “things that hurt people” after he slammed “The Power of the Dog” as a “piece of s***” over its homosexual themes.
“I told the WTF podcaster [Marc Maron] that I thought Jane Campion was a brilliant director, and I want to apologize to the cast of The Power of the Dog, brilliant actors all,” the 77-year-old actor shared during his appearance Sunday at the Deadline’s Contenders TV event, reported the outlet.
“And in particular Benedict Cumberbatch,” he added regarding one of the stars of the film. “I can only say that I’m sorry, and I am. I am. I wasn’t very articulate about it.”
“I didn’t articulate it very well,” Elliott continued. “And I said some things that hurt people and I feel terrible about that. The gay community has been incredible to me my entire career. And I mean my entire career, from before I got started in this town. Friends on every level and every job description up until today. I’m sorry I hurt any of those friends and someone that I loved. And anyone else by the words that I used.”
WATCH:
Sam Elliott apologizes for his controversial comments he previously made about 'The Power of the Dog' #DeadlineContenders pic.twitter.com/XZ86wCAXmL
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) April 10, 2022
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, the “1883” star appeared on Marc Maron’s “WTF Podcast” and was asked about the Oscar-nominated Netflix film starring Cumberbatch, and said, “You want to talk about that piece of s***?”
Mentioning the Chippendales male dancers, Elliott said, “That’s what all these f***ing cowboys in that movie look like. They’re all running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions to homosexuality throughout the f***king movie.”
“She’s a brilliant director. I love her work, previous work. But what the f*** does this woman from down there, New Zealand, know about the American West? And why in the f*** does she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana and say this is the way it was? That f***ing rubbed me the wrong way, pal,” Elliott said of Campion.
Elliott, well known for his roles in Westerns as a man of grit, honor, and courage continued by explaining he takes it “personal. I take it f***ing personal, pal.”
Campion later responded to the criticism, stating that Elliott was “being a little bit of a b****,” as reported previously by The Daily Wire.
“The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range. I think it’s a little bit sexist,” she added, suggesting that Elliott saw her gender rather than her talent and her work. “I think he thinks of me as a woman or something lesser first, and I don’t appreciate that.”
She went on to say that Elliott was being “a little bit of a B-*-*-*-*,” spelling out the epithet.
“I’m sorry, he was being a little bit of a B-*-*-*-*. And I’m sorry to say, he’s not a cowboy; he’s an actor. The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range,” she said, prompting laughs from the correspondent conducting the interview.
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