Sean Penn covers the latest issue of Variety, and I honestly believe the photographer de-hammed him. Un-hammed? He looks less like a side of ham, is what I’m saying. This Variety cover story is supposed to be about Penn’s new documentary, Superpower, which is about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Penn is all about Ukraine these days, having been in-country when Russia invaded last year. While Penn escaped Ukraine just days after the invasion, he has returned multiple times and he tries to use his fame to draw attention to the war and the plight of the Ukrainian people. But Penn habitually shoots himself in the d–k, so even if he’s on “the right side” of an issue (say, Team Ukraine), his big mouth and his asinine comments will often get more attention than the issue he proclaims to care about so much. That’s where we are now – this interview should have been about Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Instead, it’s about how Sean Penn is still clutching his pearls over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
The 2022 Oscar producers didn’t want Zelenskyy to speak: “The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith!”
The Oscar slap: “I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once. He seemed very nice when I met him. He was so f–king good in ‘King Richard.’ 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? This f–king bullsh-t 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.”
Penn’s only choice was to destroy his Oscars. “I thought, well, f–k, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians.”
Some thoughts on 9/11: Back in Malibu, Penn says he would have responded to 9/11 differently if he had been president. His proposal would not have been approved by Amnesty International. “I’d have let White House counsel know that they are on vacation,” Penn tells me. “I’m not consulting with them. If I have to go to prison, I’ll go, but I’m going to kill them. I’m killing everyone that did this. But only them. And we know where the f–k they are.”
“If I have to go to prison, I’ll go, but I’m going to kill them. I’m killing everyone that did this. But only them. And we know where the f–k they are.” Like… after 9/11, we didn’t actually know where they were. In 2010-11, when the CIA showed President Obama footage of a tall man who walked around his property in Pakistan, they still weren’t sure it was Osama bin Laden. Obama made the call and he was right, it was bin Laden and we did “get” him. Then President Biden “got” Ayman al-Zawahiri last year, more twenty years after 9/11, because that c–ksucker was really good at hiding too. This whole “I would have done 9/11 differently” thing is so weird – like, yes, the Iraq War was a f–king disaster and it never should have happened. But the reason for the invasion of Afghanistan was because al Qaeda was based there! We were literally trying to find those f–kers for two decades!
As for Penn’s comments on the Oscar slap… just… why does Sean Penn think he has some kind of moral high ground here? There is extensive documentation and reporting around his abuse of his first wife, which might be why Penn seems so horrified at the thought of Will Smith slapping a man for his years of inappropriate comments towards his wife. This whole thing isn’t zero-sum either – it’s not like “oh, if the Oscars put Zelenskyy on, then Will Smith wouldn’t have slapped anyone.” This is a whole ham mess.
Cover courtesy of Variety, additional photo courtesy of Backgrid.
- New York City, NY – Sean Penn takes a moment to unwind, lighting up a cigarette in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan as he waits for a friend. The actor seemed to be in a relaxed state, soaking in the ambiance of the trendy area. Pictured: Sean Penn BACKGRID USA 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: JosiahW / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / UK: +44 208 344 2007 / *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
