Michael Moore Clarifies Controversial Anti-Sniper Comments

Michael Moore's outspoken opinions are nothing new. On Sunday, the Fahrenheit 9/11 director posted two controversial tweets that many believed were in reference to the Oscar-nominated film American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper.

"My uncle killed by sniper in WW2," he wrote. "We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse."

He continued, "But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor."

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Later that same day Moore took to another form of social media to clarify his tweets, which unsurprisingly had inspired outrage across the internet.

"Lots of talk about snipers this weekend (the holiday weekend of a great man, killed by a sniper), so I thought I'd weigh in with what I was raised to believe about snipers," he wrote on Facebook, referring to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. "My dad was in the First Marine Division in the South Pacific in World War II. His brother, my uncle, Lawrence Moore, was an Army paratrooper and was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago next month."

Moore said his father had influenced opinions. "My dad always said, 'Snipers are cowards. They don't believe in a fair fight. Like someone coming up from behind you and coldcocking you. Just isn't right. It's cowardly to shoot a person in the back. Only a coward will shoot someone who can't shoot back.'"

Despite his opinion on the subject, Moore went on to praise the film American Sniper, which broke box office records over the weekend, saying, "Awesome performance from Bradley Cooper. One of the best of the year."

His praise, however, did not extend to Clint Eastwood, the film's director. "Too bad Clint gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling. And that he has his characters calling Iraqis 'savages' throughout the film."

Perhaps the most important message, though, was Moore's final thoughts on the subject. " I think most Americans don't think snipers are heroes," he wrote. "Hopefully not on this weekend when we remember that man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was killed by a sniper's bullet."

What do you think of his comments?

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