Sean Penn Refuses To Return To ‘Gaslit’ Set Unless All Cast & Crew Get COVID-19 Vaccination

Sean Penn is boycotting returning to the set of his most recent project Gasliit until the entire cast and crew have received the COVID-19 vaccine, halting the production in its tracks.

The film’s studio NBCUniversal has provided an on-site vaccination clinic for those on set and imposed mandatory vaccines for those in close proximity during production known as “Zone A” for cast and crew members, which was not enough for Penn who wants the restrictions implemented for those outside of the zoning according to a representative for the actor.

The Oscar winner has reportedly offered to have his nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) facilitate the mandatory vaccine free of charge. The nonprofit was co-founded by Penn during the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake offering aid and relief. In March of 2020 CORE provided COVID-19 testing across the U.S. and began providing vaccinations for all in January.

Gaslit based on Slate’s Slow Burn podcast, a UCP-produced limited series for Starz features Penn and Julia Roberts following the storyline of a modern-day take on the 1972 Watergate Scandal. Penn will play Attorney General John Mitchell, Nixon’s best friend and most trusted adviser at the time. Roberts stars as his wife Martha Mitchell, the Arkansas socialite who was the first to publicly come forward with knowledge of Nixon’s involvement in Watergate despite her husband’s friendship with the president.