Sean Penn has chosen to forgo the 98th Academy Awards ceremony to travel to Ukraine, following his win for Best Supporting Actor for ‘One Battle After Another’.
According to The New York Times, Penn, who was the only nominee absent at the Oscars, skipped the event despite being expected to attend. Earlier this year, he also missed the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTAs, despite winning at both ceremonies.
Penn has a long history of supporting Ukraine. In 2022, he described the country’s resistance against the Russian invasion as “the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams.” That same year, he lent one of his Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, promising to leave it in Kyiv until the country achieves victory. He has also filmed a documentary about the invasion and once suggested melting down his Oscars to use as ammunition for Ukraine.
This is not Penn’s first absence from the Oscars. He previously skipped the ceremony in 1996, 2000 and 2002, attending only when he won Best Actor for ‘Mystic River’ in 2004 and ‘Milk’ in 2009. Penn has consistently used his platform to make political statements, including criticising voters who supported banning same-sex marriage during his acceptance speech for Milk.
Sunday’s win marked Penn’s sixth Oscar nomination and third win. Other nominees in the Best Supporting Actor category included Stellan Skarsgård for ‘Sentimental Value’, Jacob Elordi for ‘Frankenstein’, Delroy Lindo for ‘Sinners’ and Benicio Del Toro for One Battle After Another.
