An outraged Sean Penn threatened to destroy his Oscars after the Academy rejected the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak in 2022.
In a heated monologue VarietyPenn revealed that a producer at the star-studded awards show didn’t think Zelenskyy was “light-hearted enough” to address the audience shortly after Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
Penn went on an angry tirade after the comment saying the alternative, referring to Will Smith hitting Chris Rock, wasn’t much better and further expressed his anger by saying he had no choice but to part with his accolades.
‘I thought, well, f***, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine. “They can be melted down into bullets to fire at the Russians,” he noted.
An outraged Sean Penn revealed he had no choice but to destroy his Oscars after the Academy refused to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022
The two-time Academy Award winner revealed he became close with Zelenskyy while filming his documentary Superpower
The two-time Academy Award winner revealed that he became close with Zelenskyy while filming his documentary Superpower.
The film was intended to be about a comedy superstar turned president, but quickly evolved into an insight into the existential threat to democracy unleashed after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In an interview with CBS mornings Revealing the moment he was in a bunker with Zelenskyy, Penn described the change, saying “it felt like he was born for this, it was a seamless ascent.”
His affection for the Ukrainian president was evident in the anger he generated as he ranted about how Smith and Rock would never have faced off if Zelenskyy had been at the Oscars.
“This damn bulls**t wouldn’t have happened with Zelenskyy. Will Smith would never have left that seat to be part of stupid violence. That would never have happened,” he said.
Penn himself has developed a reputation for having a fiery temper.
His first song appeared in 1985 when the actor physically attacked two journalists trying to photograph him and Madonna in Nashville – an incident that set in motion a dangerous pattern that led to Penn being sentenced to prison two years later.
Penn was already on probation when he was shooting Colors following a misdemeanor charge for assaulting songwriter David Wolinski at Helena’s Los Angeles nightclub.
He was under strict conditions not to break his probation, but all hell broke loose when he was on the set of the film, and his reputation was further tarnished.
Penn went on an angry tirade after the comment saying the alternative, referring to Will Smith hitting Chris Rock, wasn’t much better and further expressed his anger by saying he had no choice but to part with his accolades.
During a break during filming, Penn attacked extra Jeffrey Klein, who was photographing him and Robert Duvall.
The court found that Penn spat and cursed at Klein, who responded by spitting back at the actor, prompting him to punch the extra repeatedly with a closed fist until members of the cast and crew successfully dragged him away.
Klein was left injured and bruised from the incident Penn was sentenced two months later to 60 days in jail for this assault and reckless driving, although he only served 33 days.
Penn said he met Smith once, and given his own history, he was disappointed that Smith chose to destroy his reputation as a “nice person.”
“So why the hell did you spit on yourself and everyone else with this stupid thing? Why did I go to jail for what you just did? And you’re still sitting there? Why are you cheering for his worst moment as a person?,” Penn said.
Penn’s comments come as his film Superpower opens on September 18.
He first spoke to Zelenskyy about the film “long before the drums sounded for the Russian invasion.”
Delayed by the pandemic, they did not meet in person until February, when war was on Zelenskyy’s doorstep.
Despite the developing crisis, Zelenskyy agreed to start filming on February 24.
“I think he understands that part of warfare in the new world is communication on many levels,” Penn told CBS about why Zelenskyy agreed to film under the circumstances.
“I think he thought there would come a time when these kinds of tools, communications tools, would be part of the war effort.”
Penn made seven trips to Ukraine for the film and explained that while there he “finally” felt the unity and community that Americans had been promised in their own democracy.
Penn explained that if Americans don’t support Ukraine ‘we will lose a lot’
The ongoing international conflict between Russia, along with Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014, has resulted in the deaths of at least 62,200 people.
“What you have in Ukraine is the most civil democracy, the tightest community, the greatest unity I have ever felt in the world, and it is a direct representation of the best of the ambition we call our democracy,” he said. said.
He hopes the film gives context to Americans around the kitchen table to understand how everything that happens in Ukraine will be on our table, and that it’s not so easy to say, ‘Oh, we’re putting money into another country’. country.’ No, it is a great investment in our future.’
Penn explained that if the Americans do not support Ukraine, “we will lose a lot.”
The ongoing international conflict between Russia, along with Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014, has resulted in at least 62,200 deaths.