14 DAY TRIAL // Actor and activist Sean Penn is in Cannes to take part at the Haiti: Carnival In Cannes gala, a benefit that will raise money for the country that is still reeling from the devastating 2010 earthquake. At least on two separate occasions, the star lost his cool and let loose an expletive-ridden diatribe.
According to Penn, the world has turned its back on Haiti and it's about time we were all reminded that the effects of the earthquake are still very much present.
In its aftermath, everybody got involved, donated money and did their best to help out, Penn concedes, as Yahoo! News reports.
However, as the months went by and media interest in the topic dwindled, people forgot about the tragedy.
“It’s not only celebrities who went for a day. It’s the whole [expletive]-ing world. It’s all of you,” Penn told a room full of reporters at Cannes.
“The reason we have Haiti fatigue is because there was never a commitment in the first place,” he added, as per the same media outlet.
The Daily Mail notes that Penn didn't stop with his accusations here either. He continued to accuse the world of indifference at the benefit gala as well, at one point even urging celebrities in attendance to “pay the [expletive] up.”
“[Expletive] 'em if people say you're just writing a check, but you're making a change,” Penn said in his speech, which he later admitted had been vodka fuelled.
“I want you to stay here and listen to the auction and beat the [expletive] out of each other to purchase them,” he instructed the stars in attendance about the auction that was about to begin.
He even had words for the ladies in the room: “Tell the man next to you, 'I'm not going to [expletive] you tonight unless you pay the [expletive] up'.”
Even though anyone would be justified in thinking that most of those in the room took offense at Sean Penn's speech, the Mail notes that there was copious laughter in the audience as he was making it, so chances are the aim was not to offend but to motivate by shock.