Outraged Sean Penn Threatened to Destroy His Oscars After Academy Rejects Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak in 2022.
In a passionate monologue to VarietyPenn revealed that a producer at the awards show didn’t think Zelenskyy was “light enough” to address the room, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Penn launched into a furious tirade following the comment saying the alternative, referencing Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, was no better and further expressed his anger by saying he had no no choice but to part with his rewards.
‘I thought, well, fuck it, you know? I will give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down into bullets that they can shoot at the Russians,” he noted.
Outraged Sean Penn revealed he had no choice but to destroy his Oscars after the Academy refused to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak in 2022.
The two-time Oscar winner revealed he grew close to Zelensky while filming his documentary Superpower
The two-time Oscar winner revealed that he grew close to Zelensky during the filming of his documentary Superpower.
The film was intended to be about a comedy superstar turned president, but it quickly developed into a look at the existential threat to democracy that was unleashed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with CBS Mornings Penn revealed the moment he was in a bunker with Zelenskyy and described the change, saying “it was like he was born for this, it was a smooth climb.”
His affection for the Ukrainian president was evident in the fury he generated as he continued to rant that if Zelensky had been at the Oscars, Smith and Rock would never have faced each other.
“This fucking bullshit wouldn’t have happened with Zelenskyy. Will Smith would never have left that chair to participate in stupid violence. This would never have happened,” he said.
Penn himself developed a reputation for having a fiery temper.
His first problem came in 1985 when the actor physically attacked two journalists who tried to photograph him and Madonna in Nashville — an incident that started a dangerous trend that led to Penn being sentenced to prison two years later.
Penn was already on probation while filming on Colors following a misdemeanor battery charge for assaulting songwriter David Wolinski at the Helena nightclub in Los Angeles.
He was under strict conditions not to break his probation, but all hell broke loose while he was on the set of the film, and his reputation was further tarnished.
Penn launched into a furious tirade following the comment saying the alternative, referencing Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, was no better and further expressed his anger by saying he had no no choice but to part with his rewards.
During a break in filming, Penn attacked extra Jeffrey Klein, who photographed him and Robert Duvall.
The court found that Penn spat and swore at Klein, who responded by spitting at the actor, prompting him to punch the extra repeatedly with a closed fist until the cast members and the team succeed in training him.
Klein was cut and bruised by the incident and Penn was sentenced to 60 days in jail for that assault and dangerous driving two months later, although he only served 33 days.
Penn said he met Smith once and, given his own history, was disappointed that Smith chose to destroy his reputation as a “nice person.”
“Then why the hell did you spit on yourself and everyone else with that stupid fucking thing?” Why did I go to jail for what you just did? And you’re still sitting there? Why are you standing and applauding his worst moment as a person?,” Penn said.
Penn’s comments come as his film Superpower is set to premiere on September 18.
He first spoke with Zelenskyy about the film “long before the drums beat on the Russian invasion.”
Delayed by the pandemic, the two men did not meet in person until February, as the war reached Zelensky’s doorstep.
Despite the crisis, Zelensky agreed to start filming on February 24.
“I think he understands that part of the war in the new world is communications on many levels,” Penn told CBS when explaining why Zelenskyy agreed to film under these circumstances.
“I think what he was thinking was that there would be a time when tools like this, communications tools, would be part of the war effort.”
Penn made seven trips to Ukraine for the film and said that, there, he “finally” felt the unity and community promised to Americans in their own democracy.
Penn explained that if the Americans do not support Ukraine, “we are going to lose a lot”
The ongoing international conflict between Russia, alongside Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014, has left at least 62,200 people dead.
“What you have in Ukraine is the most civil democracy, the most close-knit community, the greatest unity that I have ever felt in the world, and it is a direct representation of aspiration at its best that we call our democracy,” he said. said.
He hopes the film will give “context for Americans around the kitchen table to understand how everything that happens in Ukraine will be on our table, and that it’s not so simple to say, ‘Oh, we let’s put money in another country.’ No, it’s a great investment in our future.
Penn explained that if Americans don’t support Ukraine, “we’re going to lose a lot.”
The ongoing international conflict between Russia, alongside Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014, has left at least 62,200 people dead.
