Kieran Culkin savages Sean Penn for failing to accept his Oscar in person

Kieran Culkin couldn’t help but take a dig at Sean Penn’s noticeable absence from this year’s Oscars as he presented the award for supporting actor.

The actor and filmmaker, 65, won his third Oscar, but was not present at the ceremony to collect his award.

He won the best supporting actor gong for his turn as racist military man Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another.

Penn defeated his co-star Benicio del Toro, Sinners star Delroy Lindo, Sentimental Value’s Stellan Skarsgard and Frankenstein’s Jacob Elordi, but was not at the event in Los Angeles to receive the accolade.

Penn has previously won Oscars for his performances in Mystic River and Milk.

Kieran Culkin, who won the category last year for A Real Pain, announced Penn’s victory and said: ‘Sean Penn couldn’t be here tonight, or didn’t want to, so I will take this for him.’

Kieran Culkin took a dig at Sean Penn’s absence from the ceremony (Picture: AMPAS) Penn won the best supporting actor gong for role as Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another (Picture: Warner Bros)

The unscripted joke was hailed as ‘brilliant’ and ‘sassy’, with @catluvr2008 writing: ‘Kieran Culkin is one of my favourite people to to let loose on a stage, he only talked for like 6 seconds here and still got a big laugh.’

While @JustinKoneck added: ‘Prefer to hear anything Kieran Culkin says over Sean Penn. This was a gift to the world.’

According to the New York Times, Penn skipped the star-studded ceremony to visit Ukraine, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were ‘not authorized to discuss the matter.’

The sources did not specify what he would be doing there, but Penn has visited the country several times in recent years to meet with officials and military personnel about the Russian invasion.

Penn was also absent from the Baftas and the Actor Awards, where he was also triumphant. He did attend the Golden Globes, where he was defeated by Skarsgard in the category.

Meanwhile, Sinners star Delroy Lindo was seen not clapping while Penn’s win was being announced, with viewers claiming he appeared ‘devastated’ over the loss.

Sinners star Delroy Lindo failed to clap as Penn’s win was announced (Picture: AMPAS) Penn is believed to have missed the ceremony as he’s visiting Ukraine (Picture: Getty) One Battle After Another was crowned best picture at the Oscars (Picture: REUTERS)

‘Delroy seems devastated, he didn’t even clap,’ @nata_alimuddin wrote.

While @spiresgoncalves added: ‘I’m glad Delroy didn’t clap for Sean Penn, like no one moved.’

Alongside Penn’s gong, One Battle After Another was crowned best picture on the night, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s saga about political revolutionaries winning six awards in total at the ceremony, including best director and best adapted screenplay.

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