Sean Penn voiced his disdain for the Academy Awards while attending the Marrakech Film Festival on Tuesday.
Penn, 64, chain-smoked on stage before blasting the Oscars for “limiting different cultural expressions” while sharing his support for the President-elect Donald Trump biopic, “The Apprentice,” at a press conference.
The two-time Academy Award winner was on hand for a career tribute and said that ceremonies such as the Oscars should be seen as “television shows first,” not as indicators of artistic merit.
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“The Academy have exercised really extraordinary cowardice when it comes to being part of the bigger world of expression, and in fact, have largely been part of limiting the imagination and very limiting of different cultural expressions,” Penn said, per Variety.
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“So I don’t get very excited about what we’ll call the Academy Awards [except for] when a film like ‘The Florida Project,’ or ‘I’m Still Here,’ or, you know, ‘Emilia Perez,’ of the things that are likely to happen this year.”
He stirred up feelings about Ali Abbasi’s controversial “The Apprentice” film, saying, “when something sneaks through, it’s to be celebrated.”
“It’s jaw-dropping how afraid this [so-called] business of mavericks is of a great film like that. One with great, great acting. [It’s amazing] that they too can be as afraid as a piddly little Republican congressman,” he said.
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“The Apprentice” follows Trump’s rise to prominence throughout the 1970s and includes his relationships with first wife Ivana Trump, portrayed by Maria Bakalova, and attorney Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. Sebastian Stan portrays President-elect Trump.
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During Sunday’s gala, Penn received a lifetime achievement award where he advocated for freedom of expression.
“Around the world [there is] this demand for diversity — but not diversity of behavior and not diversity of opinion or language,” Penn said.
“I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage diversity and to keep telling those stories, and I’m very proud and happy to be here. Thank you.”
