Hollywood actor and director Sean Penn has called for a boycott of the 94th annual Oscars ceremony if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not allowed to speak. He said this in an interview with CNN, according to "Tabloid".
The actor stressed that the refusal of Zelenskyy's speech would be "the most obscene moment in all the Hollywood history".
"There is nothing greater that the Academy Awards could do is than to give him [Zelenskyy] that opportunity to talk to all of us. By the way, he is the man who understands movies, who had a very long and successful career in that," Penn said.
The actor stressed that if the Academy didn't approve Zelenskyy's performance, he would call on visitors to boycott the show. What is more, Penn promised to destroy his "Oscar", which he received in 2008 for his role in the film "Milk".
"I pray that's not what's 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 gonna hope that's not what's happened. I hope that everyone walks out if it is," Penn said.
A week ago, American actress Amy Schumer, who will host this year's Oscars, invited the organizers to arrange a virtual performance of Zelenskyy during the event. However, the film academy doubted the relevance of the Ukrainian president's speech.
Sean Penn was in Ukraine at the beginning of the war. He was returning home across the Polish border with refugees from Ukraine.