Sean Penn vows to ‘smelt’ Oscars if Zelensky isn’t invited on awards show

“Now, it is my understanding that a decision has been made not to do it. … If the academy has elected not … to pursue the leadership in Ukraine, who are taking bullets and bombs for us, along with the Ukrainian children that they are trying to protect, then I think every single one of those people, and every bit of that decision, will have been the most obscene moment in all of Hollywood history,” he told CNN’s Jim Acosta.

Penn, who took home best actor awards for the films “Mystic River” (2003) and “Milk” (2008), called on people to boycott the ceremony in protest if Zelensky is not on the program, saying: “I will smelt [my awards] in public.”

The statuettes are solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold.

Penn has denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine as “a most horrible mistake for all of humankind.” He met with Zelensky last month while filming in the country, saying Zelensky and the Ukrainian people “have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle.”

“Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost,” he said in a statement to The Washington Post last month.

Russia is facing a widespread Western backlash. More than 380 companies have announced that they would withdraw, scale back or pause operations in Russia since the invasion began in late February, according to a database from the Yale School of Management. In a historic move this month, the International Chess Federation pulled tournaments from Russia and Belarus. Days later, it banned one of the world’s top chess players for publicly voicing support for Putin.

Penn has a long history of inserting himself into international affairs. He is known for his political activism and humanitarian work around the world, including relief work after Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and major floods in Pakistan in 2012.

The actor told CNN in 2011 that his antiwar stance grew out of watching the Vietnam War play out on television with his brothers as a child. “I grew up in a family that was opposed to [the war],” he said.