Sean Penn Takes Great Pride in Showcasing Hunter Biden’s Painting: “Very, Very Insightful Guy”

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Sean Penn showered his friend Hunter Biden with admiration. The actor proudly displayed a painting by Biden at his Malibu home during a lengthy interview with columnist Maureen Dowd. In addition, he provided some background on when and how his acquaintance with the president's son started.

Titled 'The Map,' the work was characterized by Dowd as depicting 'the black outline of a head with colorful, detailed brushstrokes all around it' in her article. Penn said that Hunter painted the picture while he struggled with substance addiction and was attempting to 'put the pieces' of his life back together. The painting was a personal gift from the son of President Joe Biden. In the interview, Penn also praised Hunter for his profound understanding. He spilled the beans about the president's son and his family dropping by his place the night before. Penn was also Hunter's personal guest at a recent fundraiser in Hollywood that included the president, George Clooney, Jimmy Kimmel, and other celebrities.

After Penn screened his documentary Superpower in Washington D.C., he had dinner with his buddy Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) in 2020. It was during this evening that Penn claimed his friendship with Hunter started. Filmed by Penn himself when he was advocating for Ukrainian rights, the documentary chronicled Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Further in the interview, he advocated for Hunter to take it easy throughout the campaign, adopting the position of an older statesman and delivering presentations akin to fireside chats. He advised him to avoid unpleasant feuds with Trump and instead focus on uniting the country. While talking about Donald Trump, Penn clearly stated, "He’s shameful as an art and as a way of life."

This is not the first time Penn has been critical of Trump. At a 2021 press conference for his film Flag Day, the actor-director criticized former President Trump for his Covid-19 response. Penn, on his own money and through his CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) project, brought much-needed vaccinations and testing to underprivileged areas of the United States during that time. As per Mediate, Penn said at the time, "I don’t think that I can illuminate anything that shouldn’t be plain to the eye. We were — not only as a country but as a world — let down and ultimately neglected, misinformed, had truth and reason assaulted under what was, in all terms, an obscene administration, humanly and politically."

He further added, "When my team and I would come home from test and vaccination sites at night, particularly during the testing period during the Trump administration — it really felt like there was someone with a machine gun gunning down communities that were the most vulnerable from a turret at the White House." Nevertheless, he used some kind words for Biden, who succeeded Trump that January, and the task group he formed. He added, "In the transition to the task force that President [Joe] Biden put together, it was really that feeling like a sun was rising."