It used to be a thing to not speak ill of the dead, but Twitter’s army of armchair social justice warriors couldn’t resist pouncing on the chance to preach about how the late film legend Sean Connery was “problematic” with women.
The Scottish actor, best known as the face of James Bond, passed away at 90 on Saturday.
The internet was flooded with iconic photographs and gifs of the dashing 007 star as news of his passing spread around the world.
Then came the devout party-poopers. A coalition of blue-check Twitter users quickly raised the banner of wokeness, rallying sad, frustrated people on the internet to take potshots at the newly-dead giant of cinema.
Just minutes after his death, CBC reporter Deana Sumanac-Johnson described Connery as leaving behind a “complex legacy” and outed him for his “problematic views.”
The brave finger-wagging directed at Connery’s still-warm body was mirrored by countless other self-appointed arbiters of righteousness.
Connery’s Bond, which for many remains the definitive depiction of the character, was “defined by a toxic masculinity that he sadly seemed to exhibit offscreen,” wrote freelance writer and film critic Hanna Ines Flint.
Connery himself “was a deeply flawed man modeling really bad behavior,” political writer David Rothkopf tweeted, while admitting that “he WAS James Bond, a truly great movie star and his passing is the end of an era.”
Others were more blunt: Connery was “a proud wife beater and advocated for violence against women,” gaming writer and developer Samantha Greer said.
Connery’s first wife, Diane Cilento, claims that the Scottish actor physically and verbally abused her while they were married. In a controversial interview, he argued that in certain circumstances it’s justified to slap a woman.
For some, such views guarantee that Connery is not to be mourned.
One hot take declared that the James Bond star was “beating women in heaven now.”
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