Not to be outdone by Thelma and Louise co-star Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon is making headlines this week. Rumor has it that she’s a cougar on the prowl … and her prey is a 31-year-old ping pong player. Although Sarandon’s publicist claims that her relationship with Jonathan Bricklin is strictly business, the gossip is flying.

The first question, naturally, is what kind of “business” a 63-year-old movie star has with a “ping pong aficionado.” I mean, is she researching a role? Seriously, what other reason would there be for playing with balls of with a young guy?

Joking aside, People reported in April that Sarandon is indeed business partners in a ping-pong club with Bricklin.

Sarandon and Bricklin, who are co-investors in SPiN, the New York City ping-pong bar, have denied rumors that they’re an item. Sarandon split from her longtime partner Tim Robbins in December and tells Entertainment Weekly that while …

… she loves “the idea of being in love” she doesn’t know what’s in store “in terms of romance and partners.”

Shedding some light on what is going on between them, Bricklin tells the New York Observer about Sarandon: “She’s amazing and I’m so lucky to be her business partner. We have a great relationship. I’ve gone on trips with her to meet with ping-pong players, and she has been extremely generous with her time. She’s one of my closest friends now. But as far as a romantic relationship, we are not having one. I’m flattered people think that we might be.”

Okay, so that was in April. In June, Sarandon and Bricklin were spotted in Italy together looking pretty more-than-friendly.

From The Huffington Post:

Susan Sarandon, 63, has long denied dating 31-year-old business partner Jonathan Bricklin. After a recent appearance in Italy together, we’re not so sure. Yes, it was a trip to Giffoni Film Festival, but still — Italy! C’mon!

The couple pair of good, good friends were spotted strolling and shopping in the town of Ravello.

So am I the only person wanting to know what the big freaking deal is? Okay, Susan Sarandon is an Oscar-winning movie star who happens to be in her sixties. She’s made headlines for everything from politics to her somewhat unconventional relationship with Tim Robbins.

If she wants to play ping-pong with a guy in his early thirties, who am I to judge?

This leads me to the whole cougar thing. I hate the term “cougar,” actually, ever since it came into common usage when Sex and the City hit the scene. If an older woman finds a guy who treats her well, shows her a good time, and, uh, is adept with the ping-pong ball, what difference does it make? Why does society have such an issue with it?

I guess the obvious answer to that question is that Sarandon was over thirty years old when Bricklin was born. When you think about it that way, it’s definitely kind of skeevy, but it’s still a non-issue as far as I’m concerned.

And then, of course, there’s the double standard that exists. If Sarandon was 63-year-old male dating an early 30s bombshell, he would be suffering under the “dirty old man” mantle. Or would he? I’d be right on that bandwagon, too. It’s beyond skeevy.

Maybe the cougar phenomenon, where an older woman is celebrated for her sexual prowess as she “shows the ropes” to a younger guy, is karmic payback for females everywhere. After all, how many of us have watched guys sleep with the masses and be considered a stud while a girl doing the same thing would be written off as a slut in casual sex encounters?

I’m having a hard time with the double standard of “cougar” versus “dirty old man,” though, and it really kind of bothers me since I try really hard to have an open mind in general. Anyone have any insight here to help me out?

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