Regina Hall joked that Sean Penn’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar win felt “embarrassing,” pointing to how “shameless” and “desperate” his campaign was—then added that Penn himself didn’t even attend the Oscars to accept the award.
Regina Hall was back on familiar turf on Thursday night, sitting down with Jimmy Fallon for a visit tied to her new big-screen return in “Scary Movie”—a franchise revival hitting theaters this weekend alongside Anna Faris and the Wayans brothers.
FalOn had an easy setup for the conversation. He reminded Hall that the last time she appeared on “The Tonight Show. ” it was before the Oscars. during the run-up to “One Battle After Another. ” which had since turned into an awards-season sweep. The host pointed out that the film’s haul included a Best Supporting Actor win for Sean Penn—and asked Hall how it all felt.
Hall didn’t hold back. “Sean Penn won! Yeah, and that was embarrassing. You saw how hard he campaigned?” she joked.
The laughter in the studio didn’t stop there. Fallon and the audience cracked up at the contrast Hall was drawing: Penn is famously not interested in awards ceremonies. and he’s known for not campaigning in the first place. Hall leaned into that mismatch, saying, “I mean, he was everywhere, it was shameless!” and adding, “It was desperate!. He wanted it, yeah.”.
Her comments landed with extra bite because Penn wasn’t actually in the building this year. He didn’t attend the Oscars, which meant he missed accepting his award in person. Instead, presenter Kieran Culkin stepped in—then made a joke about Penn’s absence as he accepted the statue. “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening…or didn’t want to. ” Culkin said with a grin. “So. I’ll be accepting this award on his behalf.”.
Penn has shown up earlier in the season: he appeared at the Golden Globes in January. But he was absent from the Critics Choice Awards. BAFTAs. and the Oscars nominee luncheon as awards season picked up speed. His no-show at the Oscars also came with a historical wrinkle—his absence marked the first time the winner in that category didn’t attend since 1987.
Hall’s interview with Fallon is available in the video above, where her “embarrassing” joke turned the spotlight back on the one thing Penn didn’t bring to the night: himself.
Regina Hall Sean Penn Oscars One Battle After Another Best Supporting Actor Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon Scary Movie Anna Faris Wayans brothers Kieran Culkin