
Actor Sean Penn recently got visibly agitated while discussing the infamous slapping incident involving Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony.Penn spoke to Variety recently and called out Smith for slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage during the 2022 Oscars. Minutes later Smith went on to win Best Actor that night for King Richard, delivering an emotional speech. Following the show, Smith attended afterparties celebrating the win.
Smith was eventually banned by the Academy from its committee as well as from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.
“I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once. He seemed very nice when I met him. He was so f---ing good in King Richard," Penn prefaced his comments to Variety.
Penn then continued, "So why the f--- did you just spit on yourself and everybody else with this stupid f---ing thing? Why did I go to f---ing 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?"
Penn was livid that the Academy had not invited Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to speak at the ceremony. Penn has been a strong advocate for the people of Ukraine during their ongoing war with Russia.
"The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s (Zelensky) not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith," Penn told Variety.
Will Smith 'slapgate' at the Oscars
At the Oscars 2022, Smith stormed the stage, slapping Rock across the face after the comedian made a joke referencing Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's baldness. She suffers from alopecia.
Smith yelled at Rock to "keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!" as a shocked audience looked on.
"This f---ing bulls--- wouldn’t have happened with Zelensky," Penn said recalling the moment. "Will Smith would never have left that chair to be part of stupid violence. It never would have happened."
Penn was evidently distraught with the incident and said his only option was to destroy his two Oscars.
"I thought, ‘Well, f---, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians'," he said.
Last year when Penn paid a visit to Ukraine and met Zelensky, the actor showed his support by giving the leader one of his Oscars. The actor was presented with the Order of Merit by Zelensky.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.