Inveterate smoker Sean Penn apparently wouldn’t even let a White House visit get in the way of his habit.
The Oscar-winning actor said on Jimmy Kimmel’s US talk show earlier this week that he was at President Joe Biden’s state dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto last month.
Sean’s comment prompted the host to mention that the White House is a place where “you’re not supposed to smoke”.
“Well, I did go to one of the honour guard, and I asked where it was exactly that president Obama would sneak his cigarettes,” the actor responded. “And they took great delight in escorting me to that place every time I needed to go.”
“What a tribute to President Obama,” Jimmy joked.
The former president (who appeared briefly at the state dinner) wrote in his memoir that he smoked up to 10 cigarettes a day in the White House and searched for a “discreet location to grab an evening smoke”.
Jimmy and his star guest spent considerable time on the actor’s addiction, and the Daddio star launched a few self-deprecating lines about it.
“I never did smoke. I’ve only ever done job security for oncologists,” he cracked.
He also said he took solace in a quotation he paraphrased from writer Charles Bukowski: “Find something you love and let it kill you.”
Fast forward to 2:45 in the video below for Sean Penn’s tobacco adventure in the White House: