Sean Penn Caught Smoking Several Cigarettes Indoors at the 2026 Golden Globes: ‘Can’t Be Legal’

The Golden Globes are a notoriously long awards show, so it’s not too surprising that actor Sean Penn couldn’t wait until the end to light up.

The One Battle After Another actor, 65, was spotted inside the theater on Sunday, January 11, smoking cigarettes throughout the night, according to Vanity Fair.

Many of the guests in attendance were having trouble figuring out a spot to light up outside, the outlet reported, but Penn simply continued to smoke indoors.

A photo of the Oscar winner sitting next to Leonardo DiCaprio while smoking, was posted on X and went viral. “This can’t be legal,” entertainment reporter Ben Fritz captioned the image.

And on Monday, January 12, Page Six pointed out that other photos show a small graveyard of extinguished cigarettes inside a glass of water near Penn, implying he continued to light up throughout the night.

Some people on social media even believe that a puzzling moment during the acceptance speech for KPop Demon Hunters’ win for Best Motion Picture – Animated — when a plume of smoke can be seen rising up from the front row — can be explained by Penn’s cigarette.

Smoking inside isn’t exactly out of character for the Mystic River actor. He’s been known to light up on red carpets and during interviews. In fact, the person who reported on Penn smoking at the Golden Globes for Vanity Fair recalled him chain-smoking throughout a previous interview, which was fortunately conducted outdoors.

Penn was nominated for a Golden Globe for supporting role in a motion picture for his part in One Battle After Another, but ultimately lost to Stellan Skarsgard for his role in Sentimental Value.