Sean Penn, Netflix, and telenovela actress Kate del Castillo have been battling over The Day I Met El Chapo, a documentary about del Castillo and Penn’s 2015 meeting with cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapoâ€Â Guzman that premiered on October 20. Penn’s attorneys reportedly told Netflix that “blood will be on their hands if this film causes bodily harm,†but now producer David Broome is pushing back on that claim. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Broome says that if the Oscar-winning actor’s life is in danger, it’s because he put it there himself. “The story from Kate is that she did not find out about [the Rolling Stone article] until they were getting deep into the jungle and Sean just drops this news right on the spot,†Broome told EW. “He put them all in potentially dangerous situations. I don’t know why Sean didn’t tell her in advance.â€
Both Broome and Netflix made repeated attempts to reach out to Penn and his agents, he says, but that the actor never responded. Then, two weeks before the series premiered, Penn’s agents asked that he see the documentary because of concerns that the doc would suggest that he worked in cahoots with the Department of Justice to arrange El Chapo’s capture. “But really what I think is Sean was concerned he was going to look like a jerk,†Broome told EW. “There were things that Kate said he did that put her life in jeopardy and he comes off looking bad based on things she said about him.†As for Penn fearing for his safety? “If Sean Penn is in any harm’s way at all,†Broome said, “it wouldn’t be because of this documentary.â€