Sean Penn’s curious theory involving Ukraine and Will Smith’s Oscar slap

The slap that Will Smith gave in Chris Rock at the Oscar in 2022 it went down in history as one of the most surprising awards moments of all time. Smith ended up later retracting the attack, motivated by a joke made with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Still, the act will hardly be forgotten.

Not surprisingly, the situation is commented on more than a year later. Also an actor Sean Penn addressed the subject in an interview with Variety and shared a curious theory involving the aggression and absence of the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the ceremony.

At the time, Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory had just begun. The idea was that Zelenskyy make a video appearance during the event. However, as revealed by the actress Amy Schumer (via Vogue), The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which organizes the awards — did not approve the idea because he wanted to give the edition a lighter character.

When commenting on the matter, Penn recalled Schumer’s statement when pointing out that the plan to lighten the ceremony went down the drain. And he went further to opine that the slap would not have even occurred if Zelenskyy had participated. It will be?

“The producer of Oscar must have thought: ‘oh, he [Zelenskyy] It’s not cheerful enough.’ Will Smith! […] This shit wouldn’t have happened to Zelenskyy there. Will Smith I would never have left that chair to participate in stupid violence. This would never have happened.”

Sean Penn and Will Smith

Still during the interview, Sean Penn said that he does not have a friendly relationship with Will Smith, although I admire your work. The actor also questioned the public’s reaction to the attack against Chris Rock.

“I don’t know Will Smith. I was only with him once. He seemed like someone really nice when I met him. He did so well in King Richard: Creating Champions [filme que rendeu um prêmio de Melhor Ator para Smith na cerimônia de 2022 do Oscar]. So why the hell do you [Will] spat on himself and everyone else with that stupid attitude? Why did I go to prison for what you just did, while you sat there? Because you [público] Are you standing up and applauding his worst moment as a person?”

In 1987, when he was 26, Penn was sentenced to 60 days in jail after punching and spitting on an extra on the film set. The Colors of Violencereported the Los Angeles Timesin season. He served 33 days of his sentence.

The actor has had several other cases of accusations involving altercations — including in 2010, when he was sentenced to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service after attacking a photographer, also according to the LA Times.

Retraction

After the incident in Oscar 2022,Will Smith publicly apologized to Chris Rock and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The star was banned from the ceremony Oscar and other Academy events for 10 years.

“Violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior in Oscar it was unacceptable and unforgivable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I crossed the line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness. I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the show’s producers, all the participants, and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to Williams family it’s mine King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has tarnished what has been a beautiful journey for all of us.”