{"id":24178,"date":"2023-03-03T15:08:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T15:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/03\/celebrities-that-are-still-defending-putin-and-those-that-have-turned-their-backs-on-him\/"},"modified":"2023-03-03T15:08:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T15:08:37","slug":"celebrities-that-are-still-defending-putin-and-those-that-have-turned-their-backs-on-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/03\/celebrities-that-are-still-defending-putin-and-those-that-have-turned-their-backs-on-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrities that are still defending Putin and those that have turned their backs on him"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pink Floy co-founder Roger Waters (left) and Hollywood actor Steve Seagal.<\/p>\n

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From actor Leonardo DiCaprio to martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, some celebrities were once happy to be pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme during a martial arts event in St Petersburg April 14, 2007.Reuters\/Itar-Tass\/Presidential Press Service (RUSSIA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But after the Russian leader launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, many have been eager to distance themselves from him.<\/p>\n

Martial artist and actor Van Damme, for example, visited Ukraine last month and was filmed shouting \u201cGlory to Ukraine\u201d alongside Russian soldiers.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcf8 The legendary actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has reportedly visited a private clinic in Zakarpattia Oblast.<\/p>\n

This pic: mikleyershov pic.twitter.com\/qZv9OSH5ys<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 KyivPost (@KyivPost) December 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2007, Van Damme, his daughter, and Putin \u2014 also a known martial arts enthusiast \u2014 visited an MMA event in St. Petersburg, Russia, together,\u00a0the Kremlin\u00a0reported at the time.<\/p>\n

Leonardo DiCaprio, who met with Putin in 2010 to discuss the endangerment of the Siberian Tiger, has since donated to humanitarian groups operating in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with US actor Leonardo DiCaprio (R) on November 23, 2010.Alexey Druzhinin\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A month after Russia launched its attack, DiCaprio donated to groups including\u00a0the\u00a0United Nation\u2019s High Commissioner for Refugees\u00a0and\u00a0Save the Children,\u00a0the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n

Another former showbiz pal, French actor G\u00e9rard Depardieu, has since criticised Putin for his \u201ccrazy excesses\u201d and was critical of the war.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets French actor G\u00e9rard Depardieu (L) in Sochi, Russia, on January 5, 2013.Mikhail Klimentyev\/RIA Novosti\/Pool via Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2013, Putin signed an executive order making Depardieu a Russian citizen. The actor wanted to become a Russian citizen to save taxes in France,\u00a0The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0letter to Russian state television\u00a0at the time, he said: \u201cI love your president, Vladimir Putin, very much and it\u2019s mutual,\u201d according to The Times.<\/p>\n

After the war,\u00a0Depardieu told\u00a0Agence France-Presse\u00a0in an interview: \u201cRussia and Ukraine have always been brother countries. I am against this fratricidal war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI say, \u2018Stop the weapons and negotiate,’\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine,\u00a0French media reported\u00a0that Depardieu became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. It is unclear when exactly this occurred.<\/p>\n

In 2003, the Beatles frontman Paul McCartney visited the Kremlin to perform for Putin. Since the war, he\u2019s shown his solidarity with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), pop star Paul McCartney (C) and his wife Heather Mills-McCartney (L) walk at the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 24, 2003.Maxim Marmur\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In April last year, McCartney\u00a0waved the\u00a0Ukrainian flag as he kicked off his 2022 world tour in Spokane, Washington,\u00a0MailOnline reported.<\/p>\n

In 2001, actor Jack Nicholson reportedly offered Putin a film producer role in a future film after the Russian leader said he loved his movie \u201cOne Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest.\u201d Nicholson has since come out in support of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Hollywood star Jack Nicholson (L) gestures as he talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin outside Moscow, Russia, on June 27, 2001.Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a video posted<\/a>\u00a0several months after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Nicholson was seen holding up a rock with the colors of the Ukrainian flag.<\/p>\n

The caption said: \u201cWe are with the people of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, some A-listers have decided to stay loyal, even if they might not fully agree with the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin carries a bouquet of red roses during a ceremony at the Red Square, in Moscow, on November 4, 2022.Contributor\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arguably his most public supporter is the Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, who also became a Russian citizen in 2016 after Putin personally gave him his passport.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with actor Steven Seagal after presenting him a Russian passport during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2016.Alexey Druzhinin\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seagal and Putin are long-time friends.<\/p>\n

The actor previously backed the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and is also in support of Russia\u2019s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In February, Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship award for his \u201cinternational humanitarian and cultural work,\u201d\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n

Seagal, who is 70 years old, is known for his appearances in several Hollywood action films, including \u201cThe Patriot\u201d and \u201cAbove the Law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2017, Ukraine banned Seagal from entering the country on national security grounds,\u00a0The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n

Roger Waters, the co-founder of the rock band Pink Floyd, addressed the UN security council at Russia\u2019s invitation last month.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Pink Floyd star Roger Waters performs on June 21, 2022. Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his speech to the UN security council on February 8, he called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another interview with\u00a0the Berliner Zeitung\u00a0in February, Waters said Putin \u201cgoverns carefully, making decisions on the grounds of a consensus in the Russian Federation government.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his comments, Polly Samson, the wife of Pink Floyd\u2019s David Gilmour, called Waters a \u201cPutin apologist,\u201d\u00a0The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n

A week before Russia\u2019s invasion, Waters\u00a0told Russia Today\u00a0that talk of any attack was \u201cbullshit\u201d and \u201cpropaganda demonizing Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

In October last year, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi boasted about his friendship with Putin and said the Russian leader sent him 20 bottles of vodka and a \u201cvery sweet letter\u201d for his birthday.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) are seen in Yalta, Crimea, on September 11, 2015.Sasha Mordovets\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a secret recording, published in October\u00a0by LaPresse, Berlusconi can be heard telling lawmakers during a parliamentary meeting about his \u201cre-established\u201d relationship with Putin.<\/p>\n

In the audio clip, which his office confirmed was authentic, he boasts that the Russian leader called him \u201cthe first of his five true friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berlusconi has also blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the war in Ukraine telling Italian media last month that Zelenskyy could have stopped the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cI judge, very, very negatively the behavior of this gentleman,\u201d Berlusconi added.<\/p>\n

Berlusconi, who was Italy\u2019s prime minister for close to a decade, is now a senator and heads the conservative party Forza Italia.<\/p>\n

But Berlusconi has previously also condemned the war and admitted in April last year that he was \u201cdeeply disappointed and saddened\u201d by the behavior of the Russian leader.<\/p>\n

The former chief executive of the Formula 1 Group and billionaire Bernard Ecclestone said he would \u201ctake a bullet\u201d for Putin last summer.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrities
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bernie Ecclestone (right) at Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia, on September 30, 2018.Clive Mason\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cUnfortunately he\u2019s like a lot of business people, certainly like me, that we make mistakes from time to time and when you make the mistake, you have to do the best you can to get out of it,\u201d Ecclestone\u00a0told Good Morning Britain in June 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ecclestone also criticized Zelenskyy and argued that the Ukrainian leader wasn\u2019t making a \u201cbig enough effort\u201d to discuss a peace plan and described Putin as a \u201csensible person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other person in Ukraine, his profession I understand, used to be a comedian, and I think it seems that he wants to continue that profession,\u201d Ecclestone said of Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n

After his comments prompted a backlash, Ecclestone apologized,\u00a0telling Sky Sports: \u201cOften people, I think, come out and say things or do things without really too much thinking. Probably I did the same, and I can understand people thinking I\u2019m defending what he\u2019s done in Ukraine, which I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI was brought up during the war, the last war, so I know what it\u2019s like. And I feel sorry for the people in Ukraine having to suffer for something they haven\u2019t done. They\u2019ve done nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

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