Sean Penn knows he makes it hard for everyone and anyone to appreciate him. The magnificent actor is also a political activist of sorts and even a journalist many have labeled him occasionally, but ask Penn and he would make it clear that he is just a concerned citizen who knows the power his celebrity status holds. However, despite his ‘concerned citizen’ claim he has been in the news many other times for alleged acts of violence.
Over the years Charlize Theron’s ex-partner has been reprimanded by the public, fellow industry people, and others for his acts outside of the industry. So, it was only natural that he found himself calling out Hollywood’s hypocrisy for supporting Will Smith despite his feat at the Oscars.
Sean Penn On Hollywood’s Reaction To Will Smith
To say Sean Penn is outspoken would be an understatement. Not only is he an excellent actor and performer, but the Gangster Squad star is a celebrated activist as well despite his refusal to use the term. Penn, who has a good friendship with the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was enraged last year when the Oscars declined to have Zelenskyy speak at the ceremony. And when the Will Smith incident happened, he was disheartened. But there was more than one cause of his disheartenment.
In a recent interview with Variety, the star stated,
“The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith!”
He added on,
“I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once. He seemed very nice when I met him. He was so f*cking good in ‘King Richard.’ So why the f*ck did you just spit on yourself and everybody else with this stupid f*cking thing? Why did I go to f*cking jail for what you just did? And you’re still sitting there? Why are you guys standing and applauding his worst moment as a person?”
His anger was also him calling out Hollywood’s hypocrisy over how they have readily forgiven Will Smith while they haven’t forgiven him yet. He was previously jailed in the year 1987, spending 33 days in prison for allegedly punching a man. But that wasn’t the only time he had trouble with the law for he has been in trouble many times for different allegations of violence.
Sean Penn Reveals He Wanted To Destroy His Oscars
Previously in March 2022, Sean Penn had threatened to destroy his Oscars if his now-good friend and the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy weren’t allowed to speak at the ceremony. However, what went on at the ceremony and the whole Will Smith incident convinced him to destroy his Oscars trophies and repurpose them, partly because he was also enraged at his peers ‘hypocrisy’.
“I thought, well, f*ck, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians.”
Despite certain people calling him out, many fans find inspiration from Penn from his unyielding commitment to the causes he champions.
Source: Variety and The Daily Beast
