Kate del Castillo Accuses Sean Penn of Double-Cross
Kate del Castillo claims she was double-crossed by Sean Penn in their meeting with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Penn reportedly only told her he was working on a Rolling Stone article once the meeting with the drug kingpin had already started.
TMZ reports del Castillo was outraged by the development, fearing the entire situation could have put her in grave danger by revealing her connection with Guzmán to the world.
Sources close to Penn, however, insisted that her version of the story was far from the truth, adding that del Castillo knew about the Rolling Stone article from the very beginning.
According to del Castillo's camp, the interview came about after one of Guzmán's lawyers contacted her about the drug lord's interest in having a "Mexican-Godfather" type film made about his life. At that point, del Castillo agreed to meet with him, along with two filmmakers, to further discuss the possibilities.
Penn reportedly became involved when one of the filmmakers mentioned the situation to him. When the actor expressed an interest in joining the meeting, del Castillo agreed, believing Penn's presence as a major film star might help smooth over the negotiations.
Sometime between the initial plans and the actual meeting, Penn is rumored to have approached Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner with his idea for an interview. Wenner green-lighted the project, assigning Penn and the two filmmakers as writers.
Sources added Rolling Stone execs gave the trio an official letter making the assignment binding and thus allowing them access to certain protections afforded journalist under Mexican law. Del Castillo was never given any such immunities.
Just minutes after the meeting began, sources close to del Castillo insisted Penn blurted out news of the Rolling Stone assignment. The next six hours were devoted to conducting the interview.
Again, sources close to Penn offered a far different story. They insisted that not only did del Castillo know about the piece, but she actually signed off on a draft after it was completed and helped with the fact-checking. Sources added Penn was always upfront about his lack of interest in a film project.
After several months on the run following his second maximum security prison break in 14 years, the reputed leader of the Sinaloa cartel was recently taken back into custody. His recapture involved a bloody shootout with Mexican marines, in which the Daily Mail reports at least five of his henchmen were killed.
Variety adds Mexican government officials have publicly insisted Guzmán's correspondence and subsequent meeting with del Castillo and Penn helped authorities track the outlaw down.
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