Political and social causes

Penn has been active in supporting numerous political and social causes. On
December 13-16, 2002, Sean Penn visited Iraq to protest the Bush
Administration's apparent plans for a military strike on Iraq. On June 10,
2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for
the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended a Friday prayer at Tehran
University.[27] On January 7, 2006, Penn was a special guest at the
Progressive Democrats of America, where he was joined by author and
media critic Norman Solomon, Democratic congressional candidate Charles
Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan. The "Out of Iraq Forum", which took
place in Sacramento, California, was organized to promote the anti-war
movement calling for an end to the War in Iraq. In August 2008, Penn made
an appearance at one of Ralph Nader's "Open the Debates" Super Rallies.
He protested the political exclusion of Nader and other third parties.[28] In
October 2008, Penn traveled to Cuba, where he met with and interviewed
President Ral Castro.[29] In February 2012, he stood beside Hugo Chvez
while Venezuela supported the Syrian government during the 20112012
Syrian uprising.[30]
Criticism of President Bush
Penn at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C., January 27, 2007

On October 18, 2002, Penn placed a US$56,000 advertisement in the

Washington Post asking then President George W. Bush to end a cycle of
violence. It was written as an open letter and referred to the planned attack
on Iraq and the War on Terror.[31] In the letter, Penn also criticized the Bush
administration for its "deconstruction of civil liberties" and its "simplistic and
inflammatory view of good and evil."[32] Penn visited Iraq briefly in
December 2002.[31] "Sean is one of the few," remarked his ex-wife
Madonna. "Good for him. Most celebrities are keeping their heads down.
Nobody wants to be unpopular. But then Americans, by and large, are pretty
ignorant of what's going on in the world."[33] The Post advertisement was
cited as a primary reason for the development of his relationship with
Venezuelan president Hugo Chvez. In one of his televised speeches,
Chvez used and read aloud an open letter Penn wrote to Bush.[34] The
letter condemned the Iraq War, called for Bush to be impeached, and also
called Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice "villainously and criminally obscene people.".[35] In
August 2007, Penn met with Chvez in Caracas for two hours, after which
Chvez praised him for urging Americans to impeach Bush. Penn also visited
a new film studio on the outskirts of Caracas, though he did not speak
publicly.[35]

On April 19, 2007, Penn appeared on The Colbert Report and had a "MetaFree-Phor-All" versus Stephen Colbert that was judged by Robert Pinsky. This
stemmed from some of Penn's criticisms of Bush. His exact quote was "We
cower as you point your fingers telling us to support our troops. You and the
smarmy pundits in your pocket those who bathe in the moisture of your
soiled and blood-soaked underwear can take that noise and shove it."[36]
[37] He won the contest with 10,000,000 points to Colbert's 1.[38] On
December 7, 2007, Penn said he supported Ohio Congressman Dennis J.
Kucinich for U.S. President in 2008, and criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq
war. Penn questioned whether Bush's twin daughters supported the war in
Iraq.[39]
Hurricane Katrina

In September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to aid

Hurricane Katrina victims. He was physically involved in rescuing people,
[40] although there was criticism that his involvement was a PR stunt as he
hired a photographer to come along with his entourage.[41] Penn denied
such accusations in an article he wrote for The Huffington Post.[42] Director
Spike Lee interviewed Penn for his documentary about Hurricane Katrina,
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.
Support for same-sex marriage
Filming Milk, 2008

On February 22, 2009, Penn received the Academy Award for Best Actor for
the film Milk. In his acceptance speech, he said: "I think that it is a good
time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect
and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's
eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for
everyone!"[43]
2010 Haiti earthquake: Manager of relief organization and tent camp

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief
Organization,[44] which has been running a 55,000 person tent camp.[45]
Due to his visibility as an on-the-ground advocate for rescue and aid efforts
in the aftermath, Penn was designated by president Michel Martelly as
Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti, the first time that a non-Haitian citizen has
been designated as such in the country's history. Penn received the
designation on January 31, 2012.[46]
Pakistan

Penn gained significant attention in the Pakistan media when he visited

Karachi and Badin in 2012. On 23 March 2012, he visited flood-stricken
villages of Karim Bux Jamali, Dargah Shah Gurio and Peero Lashari in Badin
District. He was accompanied by US Consul General Willian J. Martin and
distributed blankets, quilts, kitchen items and other goods amongst flood
survivors.[47][48] On 24 March 2012, Penn also visited Bilquis Edhi Female
Child Home and met Pakistans iconic humanitarian worker Abdul Sattar
Edhi and his wife, Bilquis Edhi. He also laid floral wreaths and paid respect at
the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.[49][50]
Release of Jacob Ostreicher from Bolivian prison

Penn is believed to have played a role in getting American entrepreneur

Jacob Ostreicher released from a Bolivian prison in 2013, and was credited
by Ostreicher for having personally nursed him back to health upon his
release.[51]
Controversies
Defense of Hugo Chvez

In March 2010, Penn called for the arrest of those referring to Venezuelan
President Hugo Chvez as a dictator.[52] The two were friends, and when
Chvez died, Penn said: "Venezuela and its revolution will endure under the
proven leadership of Vice President (Nicols) Maduro. Today the United
States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world
lost a champion. I lost a friend I was blessed to have."[53]
Falkland Islands controversy
Sean Penn and President of Argentina Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, during
his visit in Argentina.

In February 2012, Penn met with the President of Argentina, Cristina

Fernndez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires where he made a statement on the
long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the
Falkland Islands, saying: "I know I came in a very sensitive moment in terms
of diplomacy between Argentina and the UK over the Malvinas islands. And I
hope that diplomats can establish true dialogue in order to solve the conflict
as the world today cannot tolerate ridiculous demonstrations of colonialism.
The way of dialogue is the only way to achieve a better solution for both
nations."[54][55][56]

The comments were taken as support of Argentina's claim to the islands and
evoked strong reactions in the British media, with one satirical article in The
Daily Telegraph requesting that Penn "return his Malibu estate to the
Mexicans".[57] Lauren Collins of The New Yorker wrote: "As of today, Sean
Penn is the new Karl Lagerfeldthe man upon whom, having disrespected
something dear to the United Kingdom, the British papers most gleefully pile
contempt".[58]

Penn later claimed that he had been misrepresented by the British press and
that his criticism of "colonialism" was a reference to the deployment of
Prince William as an air-sea rescue pilot, describing it as a "message of preemptive intimidation". He claimed that the Prince's posting meant "the
automatic deployment of warships", and stated: "My oh my, aren't people
sensitive to the word 'colonialism', particularly those who implement
colonialism."[59][60] In a piece written in The Guardian, Penn wrote that
"the legalisation of Argentinian immigration to the Malvinas/Falkland Islands
is one that it seems might have been addressed, but for the speculative
discovery of booming offshore oil in the surrounding seas this past year". He
further wrote that "irresponsible journalism" had suggested "that I had taken
a specific position against those currently residing in the Malvinas/Falkland
Islands, that they should either be deported or absorbed into Argentine rule.
I neither said, nor insinuated that".[60][61]
Oscar green card joke

While presenting the award for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards,
Penn said, "Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?" before presenting
the award to Mexican-American Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu for Birdman.
This caused some people to be offended by the comments, deeming them
racist towards Latino Americans, and offensive to those who attempt to
legally immigrate into the United States.[62][63] Iarritu said that it was a
joke between him and Penn, who worked together on 21 Grams, and that he
found it "hilarious". Penn later went on record defending his comments,
saying, "I have absolutely no apologies. In fact, I have a big fuck you for
every...anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you've
got a country that is so xenophobic. If they had their way, you wouldn't have
great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank God we
do."[64][65]