Sean Penn Shocks Golden Globes Attendees as He's Spotted Smoking at His Table During Show
- - Sean Penn Shocks Golden Globes Attendees as He's Spotted Smoking at His Table During Show
Tommy McArdleJanuary 13, 2026 at 1:04 AM
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Christopher Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty
Sean Penn at the 2026 Golden Globes -
Sean Penn was seen smoking a cigarette indoors at his table at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards in images from the broadcast shared to social media
Penn, who was nominated at the ceremony for his role in One Battle After Another, has smoked on live television before
One Battle After Another won five total awards during the Globes, including a win for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Sean Penn didn't hold back from smoking a cigarette during the Golden Globe Awards.
Penn, who was in attendance at the Sunday, Jan. 11 awards show at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles as a nominee for his movie One Battle After Another was spotted smoking indoors while sitting at a table that also included his costar Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz posted a photo of Penn, 65, seemingly taken as he inhaled the cigarette, showing him sitting at his table while Kate Hudson and DiCaprio, 51, chatted during the night. "This can't be legal," Fritz wrote in a post he shared to X.
Vanity Fair also reported during the ceremony that a director who was attending the Golden Globes told one of its reporters that Penn had "just lit up inside the theater, right at his table," while others at the ceremony looked for an area to smoke outdoors.
The photo also made its way to an Instagram account called @cigfluencers, which wrote, "Sean Penn smoking INSIDE the Golden Globes venue!? Incredible stuff happening here," in a caption shared to its post. Hacks star Hannah Einbinder, who was nominated for her role on the show once more at the Globes, even responded to the Instagram post and wrote in a comment, "saw with own eyes."
A representative for Penn did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.
Stewart Cook/CBS via Getty
Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn
Penn's movie One Battle After Another won five awards total at the ceremony, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Penn himself was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture, but Stellan Skarsgård won the award for his role in Sentimental Value. Penn's One Battle After Another costar Benicio del Toro, as well as Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Paul Mescal (Hamnet) and Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly) were also nominated in that category.
Penn is no stranger to smoking indoors during television broadcasts. The actor once smoked two cigarettes during a 2018 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to many fans' bewilderment on social media.
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Sean Penn and Julia Roberts onstage at the 2026 Golden Globes
Following the Golden Globes, Penn is next nominated at a major awards show with his Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role nomination at the upcoming Actor Awards on March 1. Miles Caton (Sinners), Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) and Paul Mescal (Hamnet) are also nominated at that ceremony.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
