counter hit xanga What made the moment even harder to ignore was where it happened — and who was sitting right beside him. Sean Penn wasn’t tucked away in a corner or slipping outside between segments. He was inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom, during the Sunday, Jan. 11 Golden Globes ceremony, seated at a table filled with A-list names — including his One Battle After Another costar Leonardo DiCaprio. As nominees and presenters waited for the next category to be announced, Penn was spotted calmly smoking indoors, seemingly unbothered by the rules, the cameras, or the optics of it all. For a split second, the scene felt surreal. This wasn’t a backstage slip or a candid caught between takes. This was front and center — during the show — in a room built on etiquette, image control, and unspoken boundaries. Heads turned. Whispers started. Some attendees appeared amused. Others looked genuinely unsure whether what they were seeing was actually allowed. What only deepened the intrigue was Penn’s demeanor. There was no visible frustration about the award race, no tension in anticipation of the result. He wasn’t performing defiance for attention. If anything, he looked detached — as though the ceremony was happening around him, not to him… WATCH VIDEO BELOW 👇👇 -

What made the moment even harder to ignore was where it happened — and who was sitting right beside him. Sean Penn wasn’t tucked away in a corner or slipping outside between segments. He was inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom, during the Sunday, Jan. 11 Golden Globes ceremony, seated at a table filled with A-list names — including his One Battle After Another costar Leonardo DiCaprio. As nominees and presenters waited for the next category to be announced, Penn was spotted calmly smoking indoors, seemingly unbothered by the rules, the cameras, or the optics of it all. For a split second, the scene felt surreal. This wasn’t a backstage slip or a candid caught between takes. This was front and center — during the show — in a room built on etiquette, image control, and unspoken boundaries. Heads turned. Whispers started. Some attendees appeared amused. Others looked genuinely unsure whether what they were seeing was actually allowed. What only deepened the intrigue was Penn’s demeanor. There was no visible frustration about the award race, no tension in anticipation of the result. He wasn’t performing defiance for attention. If anything, he looked detached — as though the ceremony was happening around him, not to him… WATCH VIDEO BELOW 👇👇

Sean Penn was nominated at the Golden Globes for his role in ‘One Battle After Another,’ but Stellan Skarsgård took the prize for ‘Sentimental Value’

Sean Penn at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes held at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California.
Sean Penn at the 2026 Golden Globes.Credit : Christopher Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty

Penn, who was in attendance at the Sunday, Jan. 11 awards show at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles as a nominee for his movie One Battle After Another was spotted smoking indoors while sitting at a table that also included his costar Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.

The Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz posted a photo of Penn, 65, seemingly taken as he inhaled the cigarette, showing him sitting at his table while Kate Hudson and DiCaprio, 51, chatted during the night. “This can’t be legal,” Fritz wrote in a post he shared to X.

Vanity Fair also reported during the ceremony that a director who was attending the Golden Globes told one of its reporters that Penn had “just lit up inside the theater, right at his table,” while others at the ceremony looked for an area to smoke outdoors.

The photo also made its way to an Instagram account called @cigfluencers, which wrote, “Sean Penn smoking INSIDE the Golden Globes venue!? Incredible stuff happening here,” in a caption shared to its post. Hacks star Hannah Einbinder, who was nominated for her role on the show once more at the Globes, even responded to the Instagram post and wrote in a comment, “saw with own eyes.”

A representative for Penn did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn attend the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards
Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn.Stewart Cook/CBS via Getty

Penn’s movie One Battle After Another won five awards total at the ceremony, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Penn himself was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture, but Stellan Skarsgård won the award for his role in Sentimental Value. Penn’s One Battle After Another costar Benicio del Toro, as well as Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Paul Mescal (Hamnet) and Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly) were also nominated in that category.

Penn is no stranger to smoking indoors during television broadcasts. The actor once smoked two cigarettes during a 2018 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to many fans’ bewilderment on social media.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson (L) accept the Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Award for "One Battle After Another" onstage from Sean Penn and Julia Roberts (R) during the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards
Sean Penn and Julia Roberts onstage at the 2026 Golden Globes.

Following the Golden Globes, Penn is next nominated at a major awards show with his Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role nomination at the upcoming Actor Awards on March 1. Miles Caton (Sinners), Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) and Paul Mescal (Hamnet) are also nominated at that ceremony.

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