Scarlett Johansson Is Half Sean Penn's Age; Thoughts?

By Nicki Gostin Posted Mar 15th 2011 12:16AM

Pop-Ed: Like a lot of people, I clicked on the item about Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson recently sharing an intimate dinner at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. The meal comes on the heels of their kinda-weird brief jaunt to Mexico together (they spent less than a day there).

As I read it I thought things like, "Wow she's moving on from her split from hubby Ryan Reynolds, and I guess things really are kaput between Sean and Robin Wright."

The 'Iron Man 2' star separated from Ryan Reynolds in December. The pair was wed in September 2008. Penn and Wright married in 1996 and after a couple of breakups and reconciliations divorced last year. They have two children, daughter Dylan and son Hopper.

And then suddenly I thought, wait a minute, just how old are these budding lovebirds, anyway? Much to my dismay, Penn turns 51 this August, and Johansson turned 26 in November. That's a nearly 25-year age gap between them.

Let's put it this way: Johansson is only six years older than Dylan, Penn's daughter with Wright.

We all know that if the sexes were reversed the tabloids would be screaming headlines with words like cougar and boy toy. When Madonna dates one of her increasingly younger boyfriends, the press always finds out how old the young man's mother is and compares her age to Madonna's. (Ironically Madonna and Sean Penn were married for four years in the '80s.)

Am I being a prude by thinking it's just a tad skeevy that Penn is dating someone literally half his age? Could it just be noted that there is a quarter of a century age difference between the two?

I'm hoping that this is a fling and the two of them find partners closer to their age. Wouldn't it be great to see Penn holding hands with someone his own age or dare I say it, a couple of years older? I think that would be a really radical thing for the famously liberal firebrand actor to do.

Tags: Scarlett Johansson, Sean Penn

Comments

(107)

Tuesday 15 March

By Diane

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another male in mid-life crisis

By Addie

Sean Penn MUST be having a mid-life crisis. Considering his history of volatility, she might want to have a conversation with one of his ex-wives. People with that type of personality do not change. I hope she is very cautious as they continue to see each other. Maybe she will really SEE him after the 6 month lust period is over! Personally, I think he is ugly as all get out! What in the world is she attracted to, anyway?

By JustVisiting

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Meh, there was a 24 year gap between my dad and mom and they seemed happy enough.

By YellowRose3218

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This is nothing new, this has happened before, it will happen again. Age is no big deal here, this has happened before, it will happen again. As long as no one gets hurt, than great.
If it were the other way around though, people sure would think twice.

By elysummers

Yeah he's creepy, and she's an idiot.

By christina

I'm not sure it's his status she's after. She has her own status, after all, and he's kind of marginalized b/c he's insane. She probably has a daddy issue.

By Peter Thompson

She could be serious or she could be just sending a message that she likes older men.

By sallyreo

To Nickie Gostin who wrote the article: You wrote that Sean Penn a step up over Ryan Reynolds. Not in this century! Neither Sean Penn or Scarlet are a step over Ryan. The lucky ones are Ryan Reynolds for ending the relationship with Scarjo and of course, Sean for boning a 25 year old.

You can be hot and sexy, but if you don't have a brain, you will
not last hot and sexy for very long. Sean is only the beginning of a downward spiral.

By Lisa

Sean Penn is GROSS!

By Calendar

I have a calendar on my desk that has a quote from Scarlett "I definitely believe in plastic surgery, I don't want to be an old hag. There's no fun in that." Yet, here she is dating a haggard looking man.

By Bayleon02

I have never understood the attraction to someone old enough to be your father even if they have money or influence. I have nothing against Sean Penn and maybe she's looking to have an affair with an opinionated, temperamental guy but I think she can do better.

By popeater

when she's 40 plus she'll date 25 yr old guys.

Actually, the relationship between Hefner and his latest 23 year old "honey bunny" bothers me more than ScarJo and Penn but both are pretty high on the "why???" scale at least from the female perspective.

how true, she is half his age. wow popeater is so smart.

By alan arvada

but he's still younger than Woody Allen

By debbie

Eeeeewwwwwww! Really??

Thursday 17 March

By eamblue

Good Grief....Has Him And Charlie Not Left yet?.....

Wednesday 16 March

By mannequin

If she were the older of the two, we'd be cheering her on for scoring one.

Why do so many people seem to dislike Scarlett?

By Hobson Hayes