Sean Penn has responded to the criticisms following his green card joke at the 87^th Academy Awards ceremony.

In the promotional tour for his new film "The Gunman" held recently in Beverly Hills, the 54-year-old actor commented on the remarks of those who didn't acknowledge the sarcasm in his statement at the Oscars.

"I'm always surprised by flagrant stupidity. I keep having more hope," Penn said, as quoted by Associated Press. "The fact is that I understand it. I see it all the time. When somebody sees the opportunity to frame something in the comfort that it will be common that they can do that and they can get a group to look at them and that they will take on those positions and never really think about what it was."

He added, "I have absolutely no apologies. In fact, I have a big (expletive) you for every . . . anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you've got 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 offended a lot of people when he took the stage at the end of the annual Academy Awards ceremony to announce the Best Film award, Daily Mail reported. Before announcing Mexican-born Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Birdman" as the winner, Penn remarked, "Who gave this son of a b*tch his green card?"

The term "green card" refers to the document issuing "permanent residency to immigrants in the United States," Daily Mail wrote.

Iñárritu, however, seemed unperturbed at the veteran actor's remark, stating that he and Penn have been good friends since they worked together in the 2003 movie "21 Grams," the news outlet noted.

"I found it hilarious," Iñárritu said after the ceremony, as quoted by Daily Mail. "Sean and I have that kind of brutal (relationship) where only true friendship can survive."

Penn also stated that the irony in his statement in the Oscars was intentional.

"There's a little inside humor with he and I where I know, and wanted to know, that he would be the first person in that room to know that his film won," the actor said, as reported by the Associated Press.

A lot of people, particularly Twitter users, expressed their distaste for Penn's statement at the Academy Awards. Cosmopolitan Magazine posted: "It doesn't matter if Sean Penn was joking, his green card comment at the Oscars was awful," while immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas called the actor's joke "plain xenophobic."

Mario Lopez tweeted that Penn ruined "a fantastic moment," pointing out that no one questioned the immigration status of the dozens of Australian and British actors also present in the event, Daily Mail wrote. Penn's remark also further fueled the controversy surrounding this year's Oscars about the lack of diversity in the list of nominees.