Sean Penn blamed the Oscars for “limiting different cultural expressions” and voiced his support for Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” while at Marrakech Film Festival, where he received a career tribute
“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 during a press conference held in Marrakech.
“So I don’t I 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 said.
At a Sunday evening gala, Penn collected a lifetime achievement award from Italian actor Valeria Golino — with whom Penn has been close friends ever since she appeared in his 1991 directorial debut “The Indian Runner” — before speaking with equal passion about his views on free expression and political correctness.
“Around the world [there is] this demand for diversity — but not diversity of behavior and not diversity of opinion or language,” said Penn. “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.”
