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Key Points:
Sean Penn won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 98th Academy Awards for One Battle After Another but did not attend the ceremony.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a photo with Penn in Kyiv, revealing that the actor was in Ukraine instead of attending the Oscars.
Sean Penn has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, even directing a documentary on the war and gifting one of his Oscars to the Ukrainian President.
The Oscars 2026 season concluded on March 15, 2026, with several key moments that captured the hearts of cinema-goers and netizens alike. From Sinners actor Michael B. Jordan winning his first Academy Award to Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Supreme getting snubbed—let’s say opera and ballet lovers had a good time, the 98th Academy Awards quickly became a topic of discussion among netizens.
A prestigious night watched by millions of viewers across the globe, it is considered a once-in-a-lifetime moment by many actors. Who would ever want to miss such a golden opportunity? Actor Sean Penn, it seems.
When it was time to reveal the winner of the 98th Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the audience and nominees gasped for a moment. Presenter and last year’s winner in the category, Kieran Culkin, said, “And the Oscar goes to… Sean Penn.” However, the actor was a no-show. Culkin joked, “Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening… or didn't want to… so I'll be accepting this award on his behalf.”
Even though this was not the first instance of a winner not showing up to receive their Academy Award, many wondered where Sean Penn was. Penn won the Oscar for his performance in the talk-of-the-night film One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Many users on X wondered whether Penn had become so used to winning Oscars that he chose to skip the awards night. Penn has previously won Oscars for Best Actor for his performances in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008).
See Also: 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Wins Oscar For Best Documentary
The internet asked: Where is Sean Penn? Why did he skip the Oscars? Who might know where he is? The answer to the final question is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.
Hours after the 98th Academy Awards ended, President Zelenskyy took to his official X account to post a picture of himself speaking with three-time Oscar winner Sean Penn in Kyiv, Ukraine. Several users on X praised Penn’s conviction for skipping the ceremony, where he had won an award, while others criticised him.
Zelenskyy thanked Penn and wrote, “You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today, and we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.” Penn has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine following the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, which began in 2014.
He also directed the documentary Superpower (2023) along with Aaron Kaufman about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Out of the many Oscars the actor has, he gave one of them away in 2022 to the President of Ukraine as a symbol of solidarity.
Penn’s collection of one Oscar after another has placed him among the actors with the most acting wins, alongside veterans Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Walter Brennan.
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