Sony Pictures to go ahead with Peter Fonda's film release despite his "abhorrent, reckless" comment insulting the first family
After actor Peter Fonda's public apology for his insulting tweet to the Trump family, Sony Pictures Classics on Wednesday announced that they would go ahead with the release of 'Boundaries' in which Fonda stars in a supporting role, says THR. The indie feature star's comment was reportedly criticized by Sony. The official statement as quoted by Deadline said, "Peter Fonda's comments are abhorrent, reckless and dangerous, and we condemn them completely.
"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."
In an all-caps tweet, the actor on Tuesday had tweeted, "WE SHOULD RIP BARRON TRUMP FROM HIS MOTHER’S ARMS AND PUT HIM IN A CAGE WITH PEDOPHILES AND SEE IF MOTHER WILL WILL [SIC] STAND UP AGAINST THE GIANT ASSHOLE SHE IS MARRIED TO. 90 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE STREETS ON THE SAME WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY. F***."
Donald Trump Jr. replied to the tweet that referred to the "Zero tolerance" policy of the government that had put children at the U.S.-Mexico border in a plight, saying "As an FYI @SonyPictures 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 film stars Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer and is directed by Shana Feste. The very next day, on Wednesday, the actor tweeted an apology. "I tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images I was seeing on television. Like many Americans, I am very impassioned and distraught over the situation with children separated from their families at the border, but I went way too far. It was wrong and I should not have done it. I immediately regretted it and sincerely apologize to the family for what I said and any hurt my words have caused."
Earlier he had put more abusive tweets exhorting the public to stop the Republican policy from going ahead and had called for people to gather in protest on the streets.
The actor is the son of the late legendary actor Henry Fonda and the younger brother of Jane Fonda. He was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1969 (Easy Rider) and then for best actor in 1997 (Ulee's Gold).