Actor Sam Elliott has apologized for calling The Power of the Dog—Jane Campion’s film that earned 12 Academy Award nominations, winning her Best Director—a “piece of shit western” last month during an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, where he also made homophobic allusions and suggested that Campion, who hails from New Zealand, was not equipped to make a film about the American West.
“It struck a chord with me,” Elliott said of the movie during an appearance on a Deadline panel promoting 1883. “I wasn’t very articulate about it. I didn’t articulate it very well. And I said some things that hurt people. And I feel terrible about that.”
Elliott also apologized for the homophobic allusions he made, including comparing the movie’s cowboys and ranchers to Chippendale’s dancers. He apologized directly to the entire gay community.
“The gay community has been incredible to me my entire career,” he said. “And I mean my entire career, from before I got started in this town. Friends on every level and every job description up until today. I’m sorry I hurt any of those friends and someone that I loved. And anyone else by the words that I used.”
Kevin WinterGetty Images
The allusion to “someone that I loved” suggests that someone close to him personally heard what he had to say about the movie, and personally confronted him to explain why he was wrong.
Elliott added one more bit of apology specifically for the movie’s lead actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, who earned an Oscar nomination of his own. “I want to apologize to the cast of The Power of the Dog, brilliant actors, all,” he said. “And in particular, Benedict Cumberbatch. I can only say that I’m sorry and I am. I am.”
Elliott himself earned an Oscar nomination back in 2019 for his role as Bradley Cooper’s brother in the excellent A Star Is Born, losing to Mahershala Ali for Green Book. Elliott doesn’t currently have any upcoming credits listed on his IMDB, but appeared last year in both 1883—the Yellowstone spinoff/prequel—and Will Forte’s hilarious Macgruber series.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io