Why Sean Penn missed the Oscars 2026 has now been revealed: See the post inside

Sean Penn created history at the 2026 Oscars. He won his third Academy Award, tying with Daniel Day-Lewis for the most wins as an actor.

His latest victory came in the supporting actor category for his role as Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another.

But the noted star was missing from the ceremony. Kieran Culkin, who presented the award, quipped, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening — or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”

Now, it is revealed where he was after skipping the award show.

A post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows Penn – a strong supporter of Ukraine – was with him, meeting him and his advisers on the day of the 2026 Oscars ceremony.

“Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.”

Penn's active support for Ukraine was also evident in his documentary Superpower, which was about his encounters with Zelensky.

Last year, he attended Lumiere Film Festival, where he shed light on his activism, stating, “I don’t know that I differentiate between getting up in the morning and going to my workshop and building a piece of furniture from going to a movie set and acting or directing a movie, or anything I’ve done working in the NGO space or with the documentary 'Superpower'. 

“It all feels like you’re always looking to add value. Sometimes you’re not; sometimes you can catch yourself inflaming a situation. You have to weigh risk-benefit on everything – the situation, not oneself," he concluded.