Sean Penn hits out at the Oscars

Sean Penn has taken a swipe at the Academy Awards.

The Academy Award-winning actor and director has slammed the Oscars for "limiting different cultural expressions".

"The Academy have exercised really extraordinary cowardice when it comes to being part of the bigger world of expression, and in fact, have largely been part of limiting the imagination and very limiting of different cultural expressions," Penn stated during a press conference at the Marrakech Film Festival.

The I Am Sam star continued, "So I don't I get very excited about what we'll call the Academy Awards (except for) when a film like The Florida Project, or I'm Still Here, or, you know, Emilia Perez, of the things that are likely to happen this year."

Penn then went on to show his support for Ali Abbasi's new Donald Trump film, The Apprentice, which has received backlash since it was announced.

"It's jaw-dropping how afraid this business of mavericks is of a great film like that," he said of the film, which stars Sebastian Stan as the president-elect. "One with great, great acting."

Penn added, "(It's amazing) that they too can be as afraid as a piddly little Republican congressman."

During a gala at the film festival, where he received a lifetime achievement award, the star encouraged political incorrectness.

"Around the world (there is) this demand for diversity - but not diversity of behaviour and not diversity of opinion or language," he said. "I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage diversity and to keep telling those stories, and I'm very proud and happy to be here. Thank you."