Sean Penn gifts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy an Oscar as a "symbolic silly thing"

Continuing his intense political engagement, Sean Penn traveled to Ukraine to deliver one of his two Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a video shared by Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko, the actor whips the Oscar out of his knapsack and plants it on the table, naming Zelenskyy the Best Actor for Penn’s role in either Mystic River or Milk. However, it is unclear which statue he gave the president.

“It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here, then I’ll feel better and strong enough for the fights,” Penn said. “When you win, bring it back to Malibu because I’ll feel much better knowing there’s a piece of me here.”

In return for this gold statuette that Penn promised to smelt if Zelenskyy had not been invited to speak at the Oscars earlier this year, the Ukrainian president gave Penn the Order of Merit honor “for his sincere support and significant contribution to the popularization of Ukraine in the world.”

Penn is in the region filming a documentary on the war with Russia, which is currently in its eighth month of combat. However, his participation and activism on behalf of Ukraine have made Penn personae non-grata in Russia; earlier this year, the Russian government banned Penn, Ben Stiller, and 23 other actors from the country. Maybe if he gave Putin his Golden Globe for Mystic River, he could return to Moscow.

Before his recent visit with Zelenskyy, former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told Penn to “get the fuck out” of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government, however, has been very receptive to Penn’s participation. In a statement back in April, the Ukrainian Embassy said, “Sean Penn is demonstrating bravery that many others have been lacking, in particular some Western politicians. The more people like that—true friends of Ukraine, who support the fight for freedom—the quicker we can stop this heinous invasion by Russia.”

Here in the U.S., we remain eternally grateful that the Academy did not recognize Penn’s performance in I Am Sam.