Howard Dean Trashes ‘American Sniper’ Viewers, Gary Sinise Fires Back

Gary Sinise AP
Associated Press

Actor Gary Sinise, who has an extensive history as an advocate for veterans’ rights, has a few choice words for Howard Dean regarding a statement the former DNC Chairman made Friday about the film American Sniper.

Dean appeared on Friday’s episode of “Real Time With Bill Maher,” where he stated his opinion there was “a lot of intersection” between members of the Tea Party and others who watch Clint Eastwood’s Iraq War biopic.

“There’s a lot of anger in this country. And the people who go see this movie are people who are very angry,” said Dean about the film, which follows the life of the late Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. “This guy basically says, ‘I’m going to fight on your side.’ They bite for it.”

Gary Sinise responded to the former governor’s remarks through a post on WhoSay. He wrote:

I saw ‘American Sniper’ and would not consider myself to be an angry person. You certainly have a right to make stupid blanket statements, suggesting that all people who see this film are angry, but how is that helpful sir?

“Do you also suggest that everyone at Warner Brothers is angry because they released the film? That Clint Eastwood, Jason Hall, Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and the rest of the cast and crew are angry because they made the film? Chris Kyle’s story deserved to be told.

It tells a story of the stress that multiple deployments have on one military family, a family representative of thousands of military families. It helps to communicate the toll that the war on terror has taken on our defenders. Defenders and families who need our support.

I will admit that perhaps somewhere among the masses of people who are going to see the film there may be a few that might have some anger or have been angry at some point in their lives, but, with all due respect, what the hell are you talking about?

Deans remarks were made during a panel discussion about the film, where host Bill Maher also described Chris Kyle as a “psychopath patriot.

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