Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn gifted one of his two Oscars to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday as a symbol of solidarity with the war-torn country and said he would feel “better and stronger for the fights” if his award stays there.
This was the artiste’s third visit to the country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 62-year-old actor-director asked Zelensky to hold onto the statuette until the end of the war and a ‘hopeful Ukrainian victory’, reported the New York Post.
“This is for you. I feel terrible outside. It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you then I’ll feel better and stronger for the fights”. While Zelensky said “That is yours” refusing to accept the coveted Academy Award given in the field of entertainment.
Moved by the unique gesture of the American star, Zelensky says “It’s so great! I am Honoured. We have to win” as he observes the Oscars trophy.
“When you win, bring it back to Malibu,” responds Penn. “Sean brought his Oscar statuette as a symbol of faith in the victory of our country,” Zelensky wrote in a post after the exchange. “It will be in Ukraine until the end of the war.”
In return, Penn was awarded by Zelensky with the Order of Merit, III degree – “for supporting and popularizing Ukraine in the world”.
The Ukrainian president also added the actor’s name to the “Walk of the Brave” in Kyiv, which honours leaders and representatives from other countries for supporting Ukraine.
