Sean Penn snubbed Oscars to visit Ukraine

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Sean Penn received his third Oscar for his work on ‘One Battle After Another,’ but he skipped the awards show to travel to Ukraine.

Okay, so Sean Penn is a seriously accomplished actor – he’s been nominated for an Oscar a ton of times. ‘One Battle After Another’ was actually his sixth nomination, which is pretty wild to think about!

Sean Penn has won acting awards before, taking home prizes for Mystic River in 2003 and Milk in 2008. This year, he won Best Supporting Actor for playing the villain, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, in One Battle After Another. He beat out strong competition, including Benicio del Toro, Jacob Elordi, Delroy Lindo, and Stellan Skarsgård, to win the award.

Sean Penn didn’t attend the 2026 awards ceremony to accept his award. Kieran Culkin, who presented the award, said Penn was either unable or unwilling to be there, so he accepted it on his behalf.

Sean Penn picks Ukraine over Oscars

Sean Penn skipped the Oscars to travel to Ukraine, a country he’s been visiting often since Russia invaded, reports The New York Times.

According to two sources who weren’t authorized to discuss the situation, Penn left Sunday for Europe, intending to travel to Ukraine as of last week.

They also noted that the sources didn’t say what his purpose was for the trip, or exactly where he was headed within the country.

Sean Penn has previously documented the war in Ukraine with a film called Superpower. In 2022, he also met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv and presented him with an Oscar award.

While accepting the award, Penn expressed his distress and dedicated it to the recipients, saying it was a small gesture but would give him strength knowing it was with them. He asked them to return it to Malibu when they succeeded, as having a part of him with them would bring him comfort.

President Zelenskyy awarded Sean Penn Ukraine’s ‘Order of Merit.’ He shared on Instagram that Penn brought his Oscar statue as a sign of his belief in Ukraine’s victory, and will leave it in Ukraine until the war is over. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for Penn’s genuine support and for helping to raise global awareness about Ukraine.

If you’re interested in more about the Academy Awards, here’s a look at the criticism surrounding their decision to cut short the acceptance speech of the Kpop Demon Hunters winners, and why David Keighley wasn’t included in the memorial segment.

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2026-03-16 13:21