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Sean Penn Has 'Absolutely No Apologies' For Oscars Green Card Joke
Sean Penn presents the award for Best Picture at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Sean Penn hit back at his critics over the "green card" joke he blurted out at the Oscars, and added that he had "absolutely no apologies" for the remark.On Saturday, while promoting his new movie The Gunman, the actor opened up about the joke and said that there was a level to it that most of the outraged just didn't get. Two weeks ago at the Oscars Penn was presenting the award for Best Picture, and just before announcing Birdman the winner he prefaced it by saying "Who gave this son of a bitch his gree card?" Many found the joke distasteful since he was referring to the director, Mexican-born Alejandro Iñárritu.
"I found it hilarious. Sean and I have that kind of brutal [relationship] where only true friendship can survive," Iñárritu said backstage at the Oscars. The director and Penn worked together on 2003's 21 Grams and have remained friends since. The actor said the joke was intended to let Iñárritu be the first to know he won.
A lot of people, though, did not find the joke hilarious. On social media, he inspired the hashtag #Penndejo.
Yesterday Penn said he was "surprised" by the widespread outrage the joke spawned, but also understood how easily the Internet Outrage Machine can get out of control. "I have absolutely no apologies," he added. But why stop there, Sean?
"In fact, I have a big fuck you for every...anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you've got a country that is so xenophobic. If they had their way, you wouldn't have great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank god we do."
Here's a video of that #OscarMoment
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