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Sam Elliott fans rush to defense after 'Power of the Dog' director Jane Campion calls him a B**CH

During an appearance on Marc Maron’s 'WTF' podcast, Elliott called 'The Power of the Dog' a 'piece of s**t' and said it wasn't a realistic portrayal of the American West

Director Jane Campion faced backlash following her comments Saturday night, March 12, in response to crude criticism by veteran actor Sam Elliott about her Oscar contender 'The Power of the Dog'.

During an appearance on Marc Maron’s 'WTF' podcast, Elliott called the movie a "piece of s**t" and said it wasn't a realistic portrayal of the American West. He proceeded to liken Campion’s cowboys to Chippendale dancers who “wear bow ties and not much else.” Last week, 'The Power of the Dog' star Benedict Cumberbatch said Elliott's comments were "very odd." Meanwhile, co-star Jesse Plemons said Elliott’s comments had made him laugh.

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“I think it’s really unfortunate and sad for him because he’s really hit the trifecta of misogyny and xenophobia and homophobia. I don’t like that. I think he was being a little bit of a b-i-t-c-h. Plus he’s not a cowboy, he’s an actor,” Campion told Variety shortly before the ceremony. “The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range. I think it’s a little bit sexist.”

Elliott, known for his work in Westerns, railed against Campion's attempt at a Western thriller as he appeared as a guest on Maron's podcast. He flatly asked, "Where’s the Western in this Western?” and also criticized Cumberbatch's character. “I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his f**king chaps. He had two pairs of chaps — a woolly pair and a leather pair. And every f**king time he would walk in from somewhere — he never was on a horse, maybe once — he’d walk into the f**king house, storm up the f**king stairs, go lay in his bed in his chaps and play his banjo,” Elliott said. “It’s like, what the f**k?”

Speaking to Variety, Campion said she took a "more expansive view" of the Western genre and suggested that Elliott's comments were rather sexist. “When you think about the number of amazing Westerns made in Spain by (director) Sergio Leone,” she said. “I consider myself a creator. I think he thinks of me as a woman or something lesser first, and I don’t appreciate that.”

Fans of Elliott, however, rushed to defend his credentials and rebuked Campion for not taking criticism well.

"For all I know, Sam Elliott is a 5th generation cowboy, but Jane Campion’s statement “He’s not a cowboy, he’s an actor.” has been submitted for the record and is now the final and definitive word on the matter. Sorry, Sam," screenwriter Akilah Green sarcastically wrote.

"The American West might be a mythic space to her, but she's not part of the American West. She's a tourist. It's not her mythic space," one Twitter user offered.

"Not everyone is going to like your movies. Some might even hate it," someone else chimed in.

"If you actually listen to the interview of Sam Elliott on Marc Maron is very complimentary towards Jane Campion, his 2 big "hates" of the movie was it was shot in New Zealand but called Montana and that Cumberbatch never took his chaps off when he was in bed," another quipped. 

Campion, however, joked that the only way to settle this beef was in true Western style -- with a shootout with Cumberbatch by her side. “When [Elliott] gets out of hair and makeup, I’ll meet him down at the OK Corral on the set with Doctor Strange, and we will shoot it out," she quipped.