Actor Sean Penn says he will destroy his Oscars if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not invited to speak at the Academy Awards.
Speaking to CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday, Penn, who was in Warsaw, highlighted “two immediate crises” in light of the current conflict in the region after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “One is the refugee crisis of those coming into Poland and other border nations, and this horror that is going on in Ukraine,” Penn said.
When asked if he believed Zelenskyy should speak during the ceremony, the actor showed his support. He said he believed Zelenskyy “has been made not to do it” by the Academy.
“There are those who say that politics is for another place, entertainment for another,” he said, then argued that the Ukrainian president’s “poetic courage” should be recognised during the event.
“There is nothing greater than the Academy Awards could do than to give [Zelenskyy] that opportunity to talk to all of us.”
“If the Academy has elected not to do it … then I think every single one of those people and every bit of that decision will be the most obscene moment in all of Hollywood history,” he said.
The Academy has not confirmed whether Zelenskyy will participate or not.
See the latest images from Ukraine below:
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Pro-Russian troops drive armoured vehicles past local residents in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Heavy smoke from a warehouse destroyed by Russian troops casts a shadow on a road outside Kyiv. AP -
Sunflowers and an image with a message in Spanish that reads 'Peace in Ukraine' placed outside the Russian embassy in Mexico City by demonstrators during a protest against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainians pay their respects during the funeral Senior Lt Igor Fedorchik in Lviv. The Ukrainian officer was killed when Russian forces shelled the town of New Kahovka. EPA -
St Basil's Cathedral, as viewed from the Red Square in Moscow. EPA -
A young Ukrainian refugee looks out of a tent after crossing the border by ferry into Romania on March 24, 2022. AP -
From left, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pose for a family photo during the G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters -
Smoke billows from a fire on what the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says is a Russian warship at the port of Berdiansk, Ukraine. Reuters -
Yurii, brother of Ihor Fedorchyk, 38, a soldier killed by Russian shelling in the town of New Kahovka, hugs his mother, Myroslava, as they mourn during his funeral at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters -
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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin during a funeral in Lviv, Ukraine. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a fragment of a rocket outside a building in Kyiv that was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP -
Nadia holds her 10-year-old granddaughter, Zlata Moiseinko, who suffers from a chronic heart condition, as she receives treatment at a schoolhouse that has been converted into a field hospital in Mostyska, western Ukraine. AP -
A neighbour walks on the debris of a burning house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
Penn went further, encouraging other actors and people in the industry to put pressure on the Academy or else shun the Oscars ceremony altogether if Zelenskyy cannot make an appearance. “It is their moment to shine and protest and boycott that Academy Awards, and I myself, when I return, I will smelt mine in public,” he said.
“I pray that’s not what’s happened. I pray there have not been arrogant people, who consider themselves representatives of the greater good in my industry, that have [decided against checking] with leadership in Ukraine. So I’m just going to hope that that’s not what’s happened. I hope [everyone who attends] walks out if it is,” he continued.
In recent weeks, Penn, who has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor, in 2003 and 2008, visited Ukraine to film a documentary on the Russian invasion. He is in Poland with his non-profit organisation Core to provide humanitarian relief to those fleeing the war.
Penn is not alone in advocating for Zelenskyy’s appearance, with Amy Schumer, one of this year’s Oscars hosts, calling for his participation last week.
The Academy has not commented on Penn’s remarks or Zelenskyy’s appearance.
