Netflix Fires Back After Sam Elliott Rips Into 'Piece Of Sh*t' Power Of The Dog

Netflix has responded to actor Sam Elliott's scathing critique of The Power of the Dog.

Elliott, who is known for his roles in a series of Western films, from 1993's Tombstone to The Hero (2017), has outed 2021 release The Power of The Dog, which was recently made available to watch on Netflix.

The 77-year-old branded the Western Drama — which stars Doctor Strange's Benedict Cumberbatch and Spider-Man's Kirsten Dunst, and is directed by Jane Campion — as not only a 'piece of sh*t,' but he also stated that the film's portrayal of America's west felt 'f*cking personal'.

The film may have a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, but in discussion of The Power of the Dog on Marc Maron's podcast WTF with Marc Maron, released on Monday, February 28, Elliott was quick to express his horror at the film, The Independent reports.

He said, 'Yeah, you want to talk about that piece of sh*t?'

Taking particular offence to the costumes seen in the film, the actor explained that he thought all the 'f*cking cowboys in [the] movie' look like Chippendales dancers who 'wear bowties and not much else'.

'They’re running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the movie,' he stated.

At various moments in the film, Cumberbatch's character, Phil Burbank, is hinted as being a gay man who is yet to have come out, which Elliott noted is 'what the movie's about'.

While calling Campion 'a brilliant director', Elliott queried her knowledge on America's west.

'What the f*ck does this woman from down there [New Zealand] know about the American west? Why the f*ck did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was?,' he stated.

Alongside questioning the shooting location of the film, Elliott expressed concern over the characterisations too — 'the myth is that [American cowboys] were these macho men out there with cattle'.

He said, 'I just came from Texas where I was hanging out with families – not men – but families. Big, long, extended, multiple-generation families that made their livings... And their lives were all about being about cowboys. And boy, when I f*cking saw that [movie], I thought, ‘What the f*ck’.'

Elliott concluded, 'Where’s the western in this western? I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his f*cking chaps,' he said. 'He had two pairs of chaps – a woolly pair and a leather pair. And every f*cking time he would walk in from somewhere – he never was on a horse – he’d walk in to the f*cking house, storm up the f*cking stairs, go lay in his bed, in his chaps and play the banjo.'

Netflix has since responded to Elliott's scathing comments, taking to Twitter to post a shot from the film, with the caption, 'He's just a man. Only another man.'

The streaming services' post has led to an influx of support raining in from fans, with one user who claims to be from Montana having stated, 'As someone from Montana, who has worked on a cattle ranch. I thought the director did an accurate portrayal. Sorry @ Sam Elliott. You’re wrong on this one.'

'Lmao this is genius,' another commented.

A third joked, 'I wanna tag Sam so bad. Is he on Twitter?'

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Topics: Netflix

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.