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Sean Penn was truly angered by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
In an interview with Variety, the actor described his reaction to the controversial moment at the 2022 Academy Awards, where it was also reported Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was denied an opportunity to address the audience.
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“The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith!” said Penn
The refusal to give Zelenskyy the platform came shortly after Russia had invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
“I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once,” Penn told Variety. “He seemed very nice when I met him. He was so f**king good in ‘King Richard.’”
He continued, “So why the f**k did you just spit on yourself and everybody else with this stupid f**king thing? Why did I go to f**king 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?”
But in particular, Penn was bothered that Oscars producers allowed that moment to occur while denying Zelenskyy his own moment to call for support of Ukraine amid the invasion.
“This f**king bullshit wouldn’t have happened with Zelenskyy. Will Smith would never have left that chair to be part of stupid violence. It never would have happened,” the actor suggested.
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He then revealed that the slap actually made him consider destroying his own Best Actor Oscars, which he won for 2003’s “Mystic River” and 2008’s “Milk”.
“I thought, well, f**k, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine,” Penn said. “They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians.”
Following the invasion by Russia, Penn has spent significant time in Ukraine filming a documentary about the war and Zelenskyy’s leadership.