In a grand, symbolic gesture, American actor Sean Penn offered his Oscar statuette to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy throughout a latest assembly in Kyiv.
In a video of the assembly posted to Zelenskyy’s Instagram account on Tuesday, Penn revealed the statuette to the president and insisted he take the coveted prize.
“I really feel horrible,” mentioned Penn, 62. “It’s only a symbolic foolish factor, but when I do know that is right here with you then I’ll really feel higher and stronger for the battle.”
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“Whenever you win, convey it again to Malibu, as a result of I’ll really feel a lot better understanding there’s a chunk of me right here,” he added.
This was Penn’s third journey to Ukraine since Russia invaded the nation in February. He has been a vocal advocate for Ukraine and a staunch supporter of Zelenskyy because the begin of the battle.
In his Instagram caption, Zelenskyy referred to as the Oscars statuette “an emblem of religion within the victory of our nation.”
Penn has two Academy Awards for Greatest Actor in a Main Function from Mystic River in 2003 and Milk in 2008.
Hollywood actor and movie director Sean Penn (R) meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) as he palms over his personal Oscar statuette to the Ukrainian president in Kyiv, Ukraine on Nov. 8.
Ukrainian Presidency / Handout
Zelenskyy additionally offered Penn Ukraine’s Order of Benefit. The president made certain to specify that the award shouldn’t be from him, however moderately “from Ukraine.”
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The pair then walked by means of the streets of Kyiv the place Zelenskyy revealed a plaque within the floor bearing Penn’s title, signature and the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
The plaque is part of the Stroll of the Courageous, which Zelenskyy described as a spot the place “current and future generations of Ukrainians will keep in mind these courageous individuals who have stood with Ukraine from the very starting.”
“There are three locations on this planet that each one the pleasure of my life will likely be,” Penn mentioned whereas standing over the plaque. “The place the place my daughter was born, the place the place my son was born and this.”
In March, Penn threatened to publicly “smelt” his Oscars if Zelenskyy — who was an actor himself — was not permitted to talk on the 2022 Academy Awards. Although Zelenskyy didn’t communicate on the occasion (and Penn didn’t destroy his statuettes), the Ukrainian president gave a speech at this 12 months’s Grammy Awards.
In his pre-taped tackle, Zelenskyy urged entertainers and viewers at residence to talk about the Russia-Ukraine invasion and fill the silence of battle with music.
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