Actor and director Sean Penn urged people to reject political correctness

While receiving an award for excellence in acting and directing at the Marrakech Film Festival, Sean Penn called on the film community to reject political correctness.

"For those of you with any familiarity with me and what has been my life, you’ll understand that I don’t often miss the opportunity to say an opinion. And I have one [opportunity to do so] tonight in celebration of this incredible group of people that this festival brings together", — Penn said.

The actor went on to mention the debate surrounding "Monk" in Toronto in 2018, when British actor Stephen Fry spoke out against political correctness, saying it fueled a culture war and extreme views on all sides.

"While Steven is a very progressive-minded person, he criticized the liberals on the other side of the aisle for what that liberalism has become in the United States. Around the world [there is] this demand for diversity — but not diversity of behavior and not diversity of opinion or language. I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage diversity and to keep telling those stories", — he added.

The festival will screen his films in Penn's honor, starting with Gus Van Sant's 2008 film "Milk", about minority rights in California.