Overview
- A broadcast image circulated on X showed Penn puffing a cigarette beside Leonardo DiCaprio, with Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz captioning, "This can't be legal."
- Entertainment footage from E! captured Penn sitting nearby with a distant expression as stars including DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet interacted.
- An unnamed insider told the Daily Mail, as relayed by the Mirror, that a director reported seeing Penn light up at his table inside the theater.
- Coverage noted Penn’s history of public smoking, including a 2018 Late Show interview and a 2024 Marrakech film festival press conference.
- The incident unfolded as Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which features Penn, won best picture, director, screenplay, and supporting actress for Teyana Taylor.