Radical actor Sean Penn has called for a boycott of the Academy Award if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not invited, threatening to “smelt” his Oscar “in public” if his demands are not met.
Penn appeared on CNN’s “Newsroom” with host Jim Acosta and issued the threat if Zelensky does not get to speak virtually at the ceremony.
“The Oscars are tomorrow night,” Acosta said.
“Do you want to see President Zelensky speak at the Oscars via some sort of video link?
“How do you think the ceremony, how the event should recognize what is happening in Ukraine?
“What would you say, I guess, if you were there up on stage?”
Penn said: “There is nothing greater than the Academy Awards could do that to give him that opportunity to talk to all of us.
“It is my understanding that a decision has been made not to do it.
“That is not me commenting on whether or not President Zelensky had wanted to.
“If the Academy has elected not to do it, if presenters have elected not to pursue the leadership in Ukraine who are taking bullets and bombs for us along with the Ukrainian children that they are trying to protect, then I think every single one of those people and every bit of that decision will have been the most obscene moment in all of Hollywood history.
“And I hope it is not what is happening.
“If it turns out to be what is happening, I would encourage everyone involved, and I know that even though it may be their moment to celebrate their films, it is so, more importantly, their moment to shine and to protest and to boycott that Academy Awards.
“I myself, if it comes back to it when I return, I will smelt mine in public.
“I pray that is not what happened.
“I pray that there have not been arrogant people who consider themselves representatives of the greater good in my industry that have not decided to check in with leadership in Ukraine.
“So I’m just going to hope that that’s not what has happened, and I hope that everybody walks out if it is,” he said.
ICYMI: Actor Sean Penn says the Oscars should be boycotted if the ceremony’s planners have decided against having Zelensky on the program. pic.twitter.com/4LI2YIiKcD
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) March 26, 2022
Sean Penn called for a boycott of the Oscars and promised to publicly melt his statuette if Zelenskyy was not allowed to speak at the ceremony. pic.twitter.com/Jfpdx9idIE
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 27, 2022
Hollywood actor and director Sean Penn called on the American people to help Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference in Krakow, Poland, he said that if America didn’t support Ukraine, they would lose sight of their values and flag pic.twitter.com/8U9bugeIUc
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 24, 2022
