10 Things You Did Not Know about Sean Penn

9. Penn’s Social Activism

Penn was very vocal about his distrust of the Bush administration and the decision to go to war with Iraq. Penn visited Iran in June 2005 under the disguise of a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle. He even attended Friday prayer ceremony at Tehran University. Penn placed a $56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post asking President George W. Bush to end a cycle of violence. Penn also criticized the Bush administration for its “deconstruction of civil liberties” and its “simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil.” In September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. In March 2012, Penn visited flood-stricken villages of Pakistan and distributed goods among flood survivors. Penn is also believed to have played a major role in getting American entrepreneur Jacob Ostreicher released from a Bolivian prison in 2013. Penn, a liberal democrat, is a major supporter of same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization.