Sean Penn no longer hides his exasperation with selfie culture. Invited to a public discussion during the Tribeca festival in New York, the American actor affirmed that he systematically refused to take part in this exercise, going so far as to humorously evoke the case of a “grandmother who survived the Shoah accompanied by her paraplegic grandchild six years.” Even in such a situation, he assured in a provocative tone, his response would remain negative.
For the two-time Oscar winner, selfies are a harmful phenomenon that benefits no one. He believes that this practice contributes to transforming public personalities into permanent attractions and deplores the evolution of the relationship between celebrities and the public.
The actor also confided that he has long had a complicated relationship with large gatherings and social events. He explains feeling a deep unease in the middle of crowds, which often led him to avoid certain prestigious ceremonies, including the Oscars.
Sean Penn also recalled that he had not attended a recent Academy ceremony, preferring to go to Ukraine to show his support for the country. He indicated that he followed the event remotely, an experience that he said he appreciated more than when he was physically in the room.
The actor’s hostility towards selfies is not an isolated case in Hollywood. Several personalities have already expressed their weariness with this practice which has become omnipresent. Former Beatles Paul McCartney explained that he also refused most requests for photos, believing that this type of exposure encourages a form of cult of personality that he prefers to avoid.
Through his statements, Sean Penn thus relaunches the debate on the limits of access to celebrities in the age of social networks, where the border between admiration and intrusion into private life seems increasingly blurred.
