Sean Penn explains why he skipped the Oscars

Sean Penn may have taken home his third Oscar at the 98th Academy Awards, but the actor was nowhere to be seen at the ceremony. His absence wasn’t accidental. During a frank conversation with CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins at Spring Studios in Manhattan, part of the 25th annual Tribeca Festival, Penn revealed that he has sworn off public gatherings of more than eight people — and selfies.

Penn, a longtime fixture at Tribeca thanks to his close relationship with co-founder Robert De Niro, was his usual unfiltered self as he bounced from topics like Ukraine (“they will prevail”) to his new passion for woodworking. He also reflected on how he’s mellowed since his younger, more volatile days. But when the conversation turned to the Oscars, Penn explained why he stayed away.

“It’s not just [that it’s] an awards show,” he said. “It would be the same if this group was going to an afterparty and one stepped into that. That always represented social discomfort for me; too many people. I’m now down, committed for life, that I won’t go anywhere to be in a designated group beyond eight people.”

Large gatherings, he explained, only allow “15 minutes per person,” which triggers his anxiety and feels “dread-provoking.” He admitted that the two times he had attended the Oscars, he felt relief only because the recognition honored the hard work of his collaborators. Still, he and his colleagues on One Battle After Another agreed it was better for his mental health to skip the ceremony this year. Instead, Penn traveled to Ukraine, where he has been working tirelessly to spotlight the country’s struggle against Russia and its need for Western support.

From there, he watched the Oscars live — beginning at 2 a.m. local time — and said he was grateful to be far from the red-carpet chaos. “I really got to enjoy the Academy Awards for the first time,” he admitted. “It was great.”

Penn’s decision to avoid awards shows solidified after attending the Golden Globes earlier this year. “The best that I could ever muster was relief,” he said. “Knowing that I wasn’t going to do that anymore, I did one before that this year. I went to the Golden Globes; I’d never been to that before. And that’s where I decided, ‘I can’t do this.’”

He described the tipping point as “the ninth person” — the moment when the crowd size became unbearable. And while he dismissed the idea that his stance was about avoiding “fake Hollywood,” he was clear about one thing: selfies are off-limits.

“People should not do selfies ever with anyone. It’s bad for you; it’s bad for everyone. It’s a soul-sucker,” Penn said, recalling how he was bombarded with requests while leaving the Globes. Even if approached by “a Holocaust grandmother and her 6-year-old paraplegic wheeling over,” he insisted, “It’s a hard no.”

For Penn, the relief of staying away from Hollywood’s biggest nights outweighs the glamour. His focus now is on his craft, his activism, and keeping his world small — no more than eight people at a time.