Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio used the eighth annual benefit for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization to publicly praise each other’s philanthropic work.
DiCaprio was the guest of honor at the $5,000-a-plate dinner Saturday night at Milk Studios, which raised nearly $4 million for Penn’s Haitian Relief Organization and its nonprofit partners.
DiCaprio was recognized for 20 years of supporting environmental causes through his namesake foundation.
Penn said DiCaprio’s work motivated him to start his own charitable organization after the devastating earthquake in 2010 that left thousands of Haitians homeless and without basic resources.
“As much as anyone, the inspiration for me was from Leo DiCaprio,” Penn said. “Here was this young guy who had not only continued to create so productively but had also created what takes a kind of Herculean effort.”
Penn praised DiCaprio’s personal commitment to protecting wildlife and advocating for the planet, as well as the actor’s general optimism.
