South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone offended several celebrities they parodied in their 2004 puppet movie Team America: World Police, but only one was bothered enough to write the pair an angry letter. That person, it turns out, was Sean Penn, who, interestingly, hadn’t even seen the film before committing his thoughts to paper. Penn evidently didn’t just intend for Parker and Stone to read what he had to say, either, since he quickly made his note available for all to see.
The Fast Times at Ridgemont High star began by saying he remembered a cordial exchange with Parker and Stone during their early days in Hollywood. He even recalled getting “a few giggles” out of their work over the years. Penn went on to explain that he wasn’t upset about being the target of Parker and Stone’s jokes in the past—which were presumably made in private. “I never mind being of service, in satire and silliness,” he continued.
Sean Penn’s Angry ‘Team America’ Letter Sounded a Lot Like His Character in the Movie
However, Penn did have a problem with people telling others there was no shame in not voting. Though Penn acknowledged that he thought Parker and Stone were “talented young guys,” he didn’t think it was OK for them to “encourage irresponsibility that will ultimately lead to the disembowelment, mutilation, exploitation, and death of innocent people throughout the world,” adding that “the vote matters to them.” Penn closed off his diatribe with an “All best, and a sincere f—k you,” and an invitation for Parker and Stone to join him on a trip he’d previously taken himself to Jordan and Iraq.
As Parker pointed out afterward, Penn ironically ended up bragging about having been to Iraq in the same way that his character did in Team America. “The letter was basically like, ‘How dare you? Do you realize that you could swing this next election?’” Parker told ABC News in 2011. “And we’re like, ‘It’s a puppet movie, dude…we’re not trying to sway any elections, like you are.’”
You can read Penn’s entire letter for yourself right here.
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