Sean Penn says 'f**k you' if you didn't like his 'racist' Oscars joke about Birdman director Alejandro Iñárritu

The actor made a joke about the Mexican getting a green card, and it didn't go down very well

Sean Penn was supportive of The Tree of Life but found himself totally mystified (Getty Images)

Sean Penn has zero apology to make after joking that Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu didn't have a green card to work in the USA at the Oscars.

"I'm surprised by the flagrant stupidity," Penn told Associated Press of the outrage at the joke.

"In fact, I have a big f**k you for… anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you have a country that is so xenophobic.

"If they had their way, you wouldn't have great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank God we do."

Penn announced that Birdman director Iñárritu had won the Best Picture Oscar by opening the envelope on stage and saying: "Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?"

Plenty of people felt the joke was in bad taste, but Penn explained that it was actually a joke between friends.

"There's a little inside humor with he and I," Penn said. "[I knew] that he would be the first person in that room to know that his film won."