Sean Penn defends Hugo Chavez, calls Maria Conchita Alonso a 'pig'

Maria Conchita Alonso called in to D.C.-based radio station WMAL 105.9 yesterday to recount a run-in she had with Sean Penn at LAX Airport. Though the two were costars in 1998’s Colors, there’s been no love lost between them in recent years since Alonso wrote an 2010 open letter to the Oscar winner criticizing his friendship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Alonso — who was born in Cuba just before Fidel Castro took power and raised in Venezuela — said Sunday was the first time she had seen Penn since writing the letter and could not resist setting him straight on his friendships and the “propaganda” he has been spreading around Hollywood. Stop me if you know where this is going…

Alonso said Penn quickly became angry at being confronted: “He is someone that is not going to be able to speak calmly.” According to Alonso, Penn screamed that she is “a pig” and accused her brother (who still lives in Venezuela) of orchestrating an assassination attempt against Chávez. Alonso fired back, calling Penn “a Communist a******.” Noticing that onlookers were stunned into the silence by the bust-up, Alonso eventually decided to step away from the argument and return to her waiting mother… 10 feet away. Awkward!

The morning after the incident, “I woke up with heartburn,” laughed Alonso. She said she hopes Penn will apologize for name-calling, and admitted she regrets calling Penn “the A-word because you can say a lot of things… that are a lot more insulting without [going] there.”

What do you think, PopWatchers? A political feud between old costars? An accused assassination attempt? Have you long suspected that Sean Penn’s life was the stuff of telenovelas? Who do you think is in the right?