Sony Pictures Classics Condemns Peter Fonda’s Tweet But Won’t Pull His Movie
By Ted Johnson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – WASHINGTON — Peter Fonda has apologized for what he says was a “vulgar” tweet that attacked the administration over the family separation policy.
First Lady Melania Trump’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, confirmed that the Secret Service had been contacted about Fonda’s tweet.
“I tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images I was seeing on television,” Fonda said in a statement. “Like many Americans, I am very impassioned and distraught over the situation with children separated at the border, but I went way too far. It was wrong and I should not have done it. I immediately regretted it sincerely apologize to the family for what I said and any hurt my words have caused.”
In all caps, Fonda tweeted that “We should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if his mother will stand up against the giant ass—- she is married to.” He then deleted it.
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that ends the policy, reversing a position he took earlier in the week that stopping the practice would take congressional action. Outrage over the policy grew over the weekend and in recent days, and even some Republicans called for the White House to end it.
Donald Trump Jr. condemned the remarks, and wrote, on Twitter, “As an FYI Sony Pictures has a movie with him dropping in a few days. I wonder if they will apply the same rules to @iamfonda that they did to @therealroseanne. I have a strange suspicion that they wont do anything. Please RT, we deserve an answer!”
The movie is “Boundaries,” and Sony Pictures Classics said that it has no plans to pull the movie.
“’s comments are abhorrent, reckless and dangerous, and we condemn them completely,” the distributor said in a statement. “It is important to note that Mr. Fonda plays a very minor role in the film. To pull or alter this film at this point would unfairly penalize the filmmaker Shana Feste’s accomplishment, the many actors, crew members and other creative talent that worked hard on the project. We plan to open the film as scheduled this weekend, in a limited release of five theaters.”
