Sean Penn Talks Politics at Cannes

Actor Sean Penn has already made waves at the Cannes Film Festival, where he’s leading this year’s jury, by weighing in about the presidential race back home—and by pointedly bucking the local smoking ban. Suffice it to say that Penn won’t be joining Oprah on one of her pep rallies for Barack Obama anytime soon.

The First Post:

Defiantly ignoring the country’s smoking ban, fag in mouth, Penn said: “I don’t have a candidate I’m supporting and I’m certainly interested and excited by the hope that Barack Obama is inspiring.” But he proceeded to accuse Obama of a “phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional” voting record as a senator. “I hope that he will understand, if he is the nominee,” Penn went on, “the degree of disillusionment that will happen if he doesn’t become a greater man than he will ever be. This is the most important election, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe ever.”

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AP photo / Lionel Cironneau

Bon jour! Sean Penn pauses for a photo op Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival.