Sean Penn has vowed to “melt down” his Oscar if it emerges that the Academy decides not to include Volodymyr Zelensky in the 2022 Academy Awards.
Last week, Oscars host Amy Schumer claimed her request to have the President of Ukraine address the star-studded gathering was denied.
On Saturday, March 26, Penn told CNN the academy is committed to giving the floor to Zelensky amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The Academy Awards can’t do better than give him the opportunity to speak to all of us,” the actor commented.
“I understand that the decision was made not to do it… If the [Academia ha] decided not to seek leadership in ukraine taking bullets and bombs for us along with the ukrainian children they are trying to protect, so i think every one of those people and every part of that decision will have been the most obscene moment in of the entire history of Hollywood”.
If it turns out the Academy won’t invite Zelensky to speak, Penn said his colleagues should boycott the ceremony.
“If this turns out to be the case, I’ll publicly melt mine down,” Penn said. “I pray that doesn’t happen.”
“I pray that there are no arrogant people who consider themselves representatives of the greater good in my line of work [decidido no verificar] with the leadership in Ukraine. So I just hope that doesn’t happen. I hope that [todos] go if so.”
The Independent has reached out to the Academy for comment.
Last month, Penn was spotted at a press conference at the Presidential Office in Kyiv, where he was filming a documentary.
Before becoming President of Ukraine, Zelensky worked as an actor and comedian, playing a schoolteacher-turned-president of Ukraine in the satirical series Servant of the People.
He also voiced the character of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of Paddington.