Last year’s American Sniper, the film based on the autobiography of late Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, has been critically acclaimed and nominated for six Oscars. While some of the film is indeed fact-based, there are also some portions of the film that reveal it is full of lies.
American Sniper, which stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and directed by Clint Eastwood, has been dissected in the wake of its worldwide release last Friday. To be fair, the film was intended to entertain thus it had to get the Hollywood treatment. While the film attempts to paint Kyle as a decorated war hero, there is another side to the man that does not get shown onscreen. In fact, Kyle’s post-military stories he shared have been proven to be potentially false.
Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at 10 facts that prove American Sniper told some lies and that its hero Chris Kyle might not have been all that he seems.
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Photo: Warner Bros.
Terrorist Sniper Enemy Was Made Up
In the film, Kyle’s main nemesis is a terrorist sniper named Mustafa. Mustafa is a real person in Kyle’s autobiography but he was only mentioned for one mere paragraph. In the film, the character is a Syrian Olympic athlete who mercilessly picks off U.S. soldiers at will.
1998 Terrorist Attacks At U.S. Embassies Was Not Why Kyle Joined Military
American Sniper shows Kyle joining the Navy after watching news on the terror attacks at the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. But in Kyle’s autobiography, he was simply looking for a way out after his rodeo career was ended.
Kyle was 24, Not 30, When He Enlisted
In the movie, Kyle was 30 years old when he enlisted in the Navy but he was actually 24 according to his book.
Kyle’s “Confirmed Kills” Hard To Prove
There are conflicting numbers of how many people Kyle shot down as a sniper. In some estimations, the number was possibly 255, which would make him the leading sniper of all time. However, a U.S. Army spokesperson told NBC News once that confirmed kills are hard to prove and that there is no official record.
Kyle Never Shot A Boy And His Mother In Combat
There’s a scene in the movie where Kyle guns down a boy and his mother concealing a grenade for an attack. In his book, he does confirm shooting a woman and notes it was his only female kill.
The Bounty On Kyle’s Head By The Enemy Was Exaggerated
In the film, a bounty was placed on Kyle’s head of $180,000. In actuality, the enemy forces were offering close to $20,000 for any U.S. sniper member.
Kyle Never Punched Out Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura, a former pro wrestler, governor and Vietnam War vet, was said to be punched out by Kyle in a bar in 2006 over Ventura’s opposition to the Iraq War. Ventura denied the altercation and sued the Kyle estate. He was awarded just over $1 million in damages
No Proof Of Alleged Carjackers Kyle Killed
Kyle began telling numerous sources that he shot and killed a pair of would-be carjackers in Texas. No evidence of this incident exists and has been investigated thoroughly by police and journalists.
Kyle Was Not Compassionate Towards Those He Killed
The movie shows Kyle in conflict with his job but in his book, he describes sniping as “fun” and called his targets “savage” and “evil.”
Kyle Once Said He Killed Dozens In Post-Katrina New Orleans
Kyle once said that the U.S. Government paid him as a mercenary to shoot down looters in the chaos after Katrina in New Orleans. Kyle said he killed around 30 people, but a reporter debunked the story much like many other tall tales he told.
