Netflix bosses fire back at Sean Penn over El Chapo documentary

Sean Penn declined multiple opportunities to contribute to a new documentary chronicling his meeting with Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘el Chapo’ Guzman before attempting to block its release, according to a Netflix official.
Actress Kate del Castillo used her links to Guzman to help Penn set up a chat at the then-fugitive’s jungle hide-out in 2015, which he detailed in an article for Rolling Stone magazine, published in January, 2016, the day after the kingpin was recaptured by authorities.
Kate, who faced criminal investigation in Mexico over her involvement with the convict, has since shared her side of the top-secret get-together in the three-part docuseries The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story, which was released on streaming service Netflix on Friday (20Oct17).
Penn does not feature in the footage, but on the eve of the show’s launch, it was revealed Penn had tried to halt its release or have it edited as he was upset at the suggestion that he was the one who tipped off U.S. Department of Justice officials about where Guzman was hiding out.
Slamming the idea, Penn’s spokesman Mark Fabiani told U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America: “The notion… (is) a complete fabrication and bald-faced lie.”
Addressing the Oscar winner’s attempts to halt the show’s release, Fabiani added, “Mr. Penn’s sole interest was to ensure that the documentary was factual and accurate rather than containing egregiously-reckless fabrications and lies.”
However, a representative for Netflix insists the actor had plenty of time to share his concerns about the project before its launch.
“Sean Penn was given the opportunity on multiple occasions to participate in The Day I Met El Chapo and did not do so,” reads a statement issued by Netflix chiefs. “This series gives Kate a chance to finally tell her side of this stranger-than-fiction story.”