SEAN PENN - PENN: 'CELEBRITIES SHOULD SPEAK OUT'

PENN: 'CELEBRITIES SHOULD SPEAK OUT'

Oscar winner SEAN PENN refuses to let criticism stop him from being politically active and insists more celebrities should speak out for what they believe in. Penn has regularly criticised the current US administration and made headlines in Toronto, Canada, earlier this month (SEP06) when he called President GEORGE W BUSH "a Beelzebub - and a dumb one". The MYSTIC RIVER star makes no apologies for his tough talking or political activism: "I think it's incumbent upon everyone to speak up. "Not enough people do it. Maybe they're afraid they'll be criticised or called a Nazi. But I hope that never makes me embarrassed to lend a hand or speak my mind." Penn claims his political activism is geared more towards "civilians" and insists he wasn't trying to get publicity by joining recovery efforts in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina struck last year (05) - he was just trying to help. He adds, "I was able to lend a hand and that's all I was there to do. People may want to make it more than that, but I don't want to dignify all these talking-head (jerks). "At the end of the day, you have to do what you think is right, to act responsibly so you can live with yourself."