Sean Penn goes up to the front. In an interview with CNN on Saturday, the American actor threatened to “melt down his Oscars in public” if the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to speak at the ceremony which will take place on the night of this Sunday to Monday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. He also called for a boycott of the ceremony if Zelensky did not speak.
“There is nothing greater that the Oscars can do than give (Volodymyr) Zelensky the opportunity to speak to us. But I understand that it was decided not to do it”, regretted the American actor, Oscar winner for his performances in Mystic River by Clint Eastwood in 2003 and Milk by Gus Van Sant in 2008.
“Most Lewd Moment in Hollywood History”
From his home in Poland, Sean Penn has spoken of ‘the most lewd moment in Hollywood history’ over Oscars management’s decision not to act on the request of actress Amy Schumer, also presenter of the evening, to allow Zelensky to speak during the ceremony.
“Inviting Zelensky to speak to us is one of the nicest things to do,” added Sean Penn, who has a special connection to Ukraine and its president. At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the American actor had met President Zelensky as part of a documentary for Vice Studios about the war in Ukraine.