{"id":527415,"date":"2026-03-16T19:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/527415\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T19:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:55:07","slug":"sean-penn-skipped-oscars-to-meet-president-zelenskyy-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/527415\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Penn Skipped Oscars to Meet President Zelenskyy in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSean Penn<\/a> won his third Oscar Sunday night<\/a> for supporting actor for his role as Colonel Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s \u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>,\u201d but he was missing from the awards show.<\/p>\n

\n\tPenn skipped the ceremony to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a>. The Ukrainian leader posted a photo of them together on X, <\/a>thanking the actor and activist. Zelenskyy wrote, \u201cSean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is.
You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war.
This is still true today.
And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people. pic.twitter.com\/wGneO1rqJI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tLast year\u2019s supporting actor winner Kieran Culkin presented the award Sunday night, saying \u201cSean Penn couldn\u2019t be here this evening \u2014 or didn\u2019t want to, so I\u2019ll be accepting the award on his behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPenn appeared on last year\u2019s Variety\u2019s Actors on Actors in\u00a0a conversation with Julia Roberts<\/a> and said he skirted the no-smoking rules at the Golden Globes to light up a cigarette during the ceremony. At the 2026 Globes, he lost best supporting actor to \u201cSentimental Value\u2019s\u201d Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd. Penn went on to win the Actor Award and BAFTA award, but declined to attend either ceremony.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt last year\u2019s Lumiere Film Festival, Penn talked about his activism, including his documentary \u201cSuperpower,\u201d co-directed with Aaron Kaufman, about his encounters with Zelensky. Penn reflected on how his activism, filmmaking and carpentry all come from the same impulse. \u201cI don\u2019t know that I differentiate between getting up in the morning and going to my workshop and building a piece of furniture from going to a movie set and acting or directing a movie, or anything I\u2019ve done working in the NGO space or with the documentary \u2018Superpower,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt all feels like you\u2019re always looking to be value added. Sometimes you\u2019re not; sometimes you can catch yourself inflaming a situation. You have to weigh risk-benefit on everything \u2013 to the situation, not to oneself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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