Apparently Sean Penn (and it is his profession)

[TNNurse]

thinks that the Academy Award Ceremony needs the leader of a country which is at war to stop and talk to them about it.

I think it is great if those present make statements about it all they want. It is critical that everyone knows what is happening in Ukraine.

It is not my profession, it is not the center of civilization and I think the film community is not his priority.

or, I could be wrong.

I got moderate grief on FB about my thoughts on this.

I admire Sean Penn's activism..I admire him for making a documentary about Ukraine, but I do not care what he does with his Oscars.

[Tetrachloride]

1. The film industry can be a moral leader, or lag or something.

It’s worthwhile to reach an audience with worldwide potential.

The alternatives include Steven Seagal.

President Zelenskyy will make his choice as best he can.

[TNNurse]

2. Holy crap, surely they would not let Putin's good pal,

Seagal speak at this time.

[SergeStorms]

8. How's his lackluster career....

doing with the thriving Russian film industry?



I could never stand the idiot before he became so politically incorrect. If it's at all possible, I think less of him now.

[Tetrachloride]

9. At one time, it might have been possible

I speak in broad terms of course.

I am in writing groups or loose affiliation which include a couple of wouldbe screenwriters.

The connotations range from gritty to lite to absurd.

But a speaker such as President Zelenskyy or ( fill in the blank ) brings a power that most actors cannot.

Hence, I appreciate the idea put forward by Sean Penn.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. I don't understand this thread.

The suggestion that he is demanding Zelensky speak at the Academy Awards out of vanity doesn't make sense. He wants to give President Zelensky as large a platform as possible. Is there a better example of America's soft power than Hollywood? There is also a suggestion he's a bad actor which he isn't and a wife beater which he isn't either.

[SergeStorms]

28. As for the wife beating....

Kelly LeBrock would know more about that than anyone, and she has repeatedly stated that she was raped and beaten by Seagal.

As for being a horrible actor, that's completely a matter of opinion. I always thought his performances were laughable. Your opinion differs and I respect that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. I was talking about Sean Penn. I don't think I ever saw a movie with Seagal

He is far from a bad actor. His Jeff Spicoli role is iconic. Also, Penn's wives deny he ever laid a hand on them.

[SergeStorms]

31. Sorry, I thought we were discussing Seagal....

in reference to the wife beating and crappy acting. My mistake.

I agree, Penn is a great actor and has a a social conscience second to none. In his younger days he had a hot temper, but I never heard anyone accuse him of beating women. He usually beat on reporters and paparazzi who were being rude to his lady friends.

As for Seagal, he's a total waste of the oxygen he breathes in my opinion.

[Wounded Bear]

3. I've supported him in the past, but this is grandstanding...

[gulliver]

4. Zelensky would be nuts to appear on the Oscars

I certainly hope he knows that.

Penn's a fool (in this case).

[mountain grammy]

21. Agree!

[SergeStorms]

5. I hope you're not offended....

by anything someone on Facebook says. Too many trolls on Facebook for my liking.

Your opinion is as valid as anyone's. On this subject I agree with you. Penn has a great social conscience, but there's a time and place for everything.

[TNNurse]

19. Oh, I am so not offended by strangers on FB.

I ignore them, I do not argue back. If they are really offensive, I block them.
The positive thing is that often others come to my defense. I do enjoy that.

[LakeArenal]

6. I think it's not appropriate too do missionary work at awards shows.

Nobody would accept any actor calling on Putin to meet with them.

[dweller]

7. I would suspect Sean Penn

has smelt his Oscar occasionally in the past …
He’s a bit weird that way


✌🏻

[Baked Potato]

10. Not appropriate at the ceremony. Nope. Nt

[Sneederbunk]

11. I believe he is correctly thinking large audience.

[Silver Gaia]

18. I don't know who you are referring to here (Zelenskyy or Penn?), but I agree.

Many more people will see and hear this than any speech aired on news channels. I have NO problem with whatever they decide to do. It is a huge worldwide platform.

[Tree-Hugger]

12. How does a melted Oscar

Help Ukraine? At least auction it off and raise money. Granted, Sean Penn does a lot of boots on the ground charity work. This demand for Zelenskyy to speak isn't it, though.

[TNNurse]

16. I thought raising money with it is a great idea as well.

He apparently thinks others will walk out in protest...I am pretty sure that most who attend are thinking of themselves.

[Silver Gaia]

13. I just have couple of thoughts about this.

1) I think it's mostly because Zelenskyy is a fellow actor and comedian that some want to offer him a platform to speak. He did star in a television series prior to running for office. (It's on Netflix: Servant of the People.)

2) In Sean's case, he went there at the start of the conflict to film a documentary about the war and just recently had to flee the country when it became too dangerous for his crew. Point is that it is something near and dear to his heart so it's not surprising he would advocate for this. He may even have interviewed Zelenskyy.

Beyond that, I am fine with whatever they do, but I do expect to see quite a lot of blue and yellow and a great deal of support for Ukraine. Some actors have contributed large amounts of money toward relief for refugees and are involved in other relief efforts, too, so if they are there, they may talk about what we can all do. Some involved actors I know of are Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Leonardo Di Caprio, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, and Kit Harington and David Tenant in the UK.

[BlackSkimmer]

14. Completely agree.

Penn is self-centered, as most of the Hollywood crowd is.

Zelenskyy can speak from any platform he wants. The governments of the west have seen to that.

He doesn’t need to stroke the egos of the film crowd.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. Remind me when Sean Penn...

... next appears on Bill Maher's show, so I'm reminded of how little I care to hear the opinions of his many celebrity guests and I'll continue to not watch it.

John Oliver's HBO show is much less a waste of my time.

[milestogo]

17. Most Hollywood actors and actresses are quite liberal/progressive to begin with.

They have constant media access... they can make statements any time they want.

This event (the Oscars) is to honor the performances of individuals. If someone wants to use their time to make a statement, that's fine. But it does not seem appropriate to make the whole event over into something else.

[TNNurse]

20. You made my point better than I did.

Thank you.

[Silver Gaia]

22. It's a 3-hour show. There's plenty of time to accommodate all sorts of things.

As a fellow ACTOR, Zelenskyy has a perfect right to speak there if he wants to. It's a huge worldwide audience and will reach people who never watch news channels. This is up to the actors, including Zelenskyy. It's their show.

[milestogo]

24. He's not an actor now.

Was he ever at the Oscars before?

[Silver Gaia]

30. None of that matters.

Seriously. Arnold Shwarzneggar didn't stop being an actor when he became gov of CA.

And being an actor isn't even a requirement.

All kinds of people do things at the Oscars, like Olympic athletes tonight. US Presidents have spoken via video.

My only point is that there IS a kinship and mutual respect actor to actor that may have been a factor.

I'm done discussing this, though. Gonna finish watching the show.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

23. Dear Sean Penn...

When did you stop beating your wife?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. He wants to give Zelensky as wide a platform as possible.

Hollywood is one of our largest exports and symbolic of our soft power.

[mountain grammy]

26. So here's the thing Sean..

How about funding some liberal radio, you know, like the right funded the likes of Rush Limbaugh and so many more. Save America by drowning out the right wing evil propaganda that's permeated the airways for decades. Fund investigating reporting into the religious scams and charlatans poisoning the minds of millions.

I'm doing what I can through subscriptions and donations, but Rush never had to broadcast from his basement.. just sayin..