Ben Stiller And Sean Penn Banned From Entering Russia
Sean Penn and Ben Stiller are among the 25 US officials and "cultural figures" permanently banned from Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recently announced that it had imposed sanctions against 25 American officials and "cultural figures", including well-known actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn.
"In response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the Biden Administration against Russian citizens. (...) a permanent ban on entry into the Russian Federation is being imposed on high-ranking officials, representatives of the business community and experts, as well as personalities cultural", according to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
Among the officials sanctioned by Russia are Minister of Commerce Gina Raimondo and three of her deputies. The new list of sanctioned individuals contains 25 names, with Interfax recalling that the total number of US citizens against whom it has imposed sanctions has now reached 1,073 people.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated on Monday that "hostile actions by US authorities" would continue to receive a "resolute response" from Moscow.
Why Russia Sanctions Ben Stiller And Sean Penn
Both Sean Penn and Ben Stiller have expressed their support for Ukraine amid the invasion. Although it did not individually justify each name it included on the sanctions list on Monday, it is likely that the Russian Foreign Ministry sanctioned Ben Stiller because of a visit he made in June to Kyiv, where met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ben Stiller made the visit as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
"You’re my hero," Ben Stiller told the Kyiv leader. "You gave up your acting career for this," he continued, with Zelenski replying that he didn’t give up a career "as good as yours".
Before entering politics, Volodymyr Zelensky was known for playing the lead role in the most popular comedy series broadcast in Ukraine.
Ben Stiller also said during the visit that "It's one thing to see this destruction on TV or on social networks. Another thing is to see it all with your own eyes. That's a lot more shocking."
Before the visit to Kyiv, the American actor was in Irpin, a locality where Russian soldiers committed several massacres, and in the village of Makarov.
Sean Penn Was Filming A Documentary About The War In Ukraine
As early as February 25, a day after the Russian invasion, it was learned that Sean Penn, another well-known Hollywood actor, is in Kyiv to film an upcoming documentary about the "special military operation" launched by Vladimir Putin.
He was spotted among attendees at a government press conference in Kyiv and was seen meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on the Ukrainian head of state's Instagram account.
Sean Penn called the invasion "a brutal and terrible mistake" and said that "[It is] already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn't relent, I believe [Russian president] Mr. [Vladimir] Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind."
The actor even told Hollywood Authentic magazine in April that he even thought about fighting on behalf of Ukraine.
"If you've been in Ukraine [fighting] has to cross your mind," he said. "And you kind of think what century is this? Because I was at the gas station in Brentwood the other day and I'm now thinking about taking up arms against Russia? What the f--- is going on?"
