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Smoker Sean is scolded
16/09/2006 18:05 - (SA)
Toronto - United States actor Sean Penn flouted no-smoking laws at the Toronto film festival this week, and a hotel paid the price.
Oscar-winning Penn, known in Hollywood for his brief marriage to Madonna as well as his short temper, lit up during a press conference for his new film All the King's Men at the Toronto Sutton Place Hotel.
This is in violation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, that bans smoking in public enclosed spaces.
A spokesperson for the Sutton Place, Christopher Ashby, confirmed on Friday that the hotel had been slapped with fines for allowing Penn to smoke. The standard penalties would be 605 Canadian dollars (about R3 750).
Asked why hotel staff did not tell Penn of the no-smoking rules, Ashby said: "It was a private event. Our staff were not present in the room and therefore we couldn't intervene because we weren't present."
Penn is escaping the incident with a slap on the wrist - a sternly worded letter from Toronto public health officials.
Other celebrities at the film festival have been spotted puffing away in public spaces, but Penn might have been singled out because photographic evidence of his misbehaviour has been splashed on newspaper pages and TV screens across the country.
"We don't have a system in Canada where we have preferential treatment for someone who's famous or rich," said Ontario health promotion minister Jim Watson.
"We welcome stars and mere mortals and everyone else to Ontario and they have to respect our laws."
- Reuters
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