American Actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn Are No Longer Welcome in Russia

Well-known American actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn have been placed on a new sanctions list produced by the Russian government.

As Reuters reports(Opens in a new window), the list contains 25 US citizens including politicians, trade officials, and industrial executives, but the two actors are the most prominent inclusions. Vladimir Putin doesn’t like anyone who takes Ukraine’s side in his war with the country, and both Stiller and Penn have done just that.

(Credit: Getty Images/Stringer/Omar Marques)

Ben Stiller met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy back in June and told him, “You’re my hero(Opens in a new window).” The meeting was televised and has been widely shared.

Sean Penn was filming a documentary in Ukraine about Russia’s aggression towards the country when Russia invaded back in February. At the time he stated(Opens in a new window), “Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost.” Penn has since returned to the country to meet Zelenskiy, as well as visiting Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv where alleged atrocities by Russian troops(Opens in a new window) against hundreds of civilians were carried out.

The sanctions mean neither Stiller or Penn are allowed to visit Russia, no Russian citizens can do business with them, and any Russian assets they have are now frozen. I suspect neither actor will be too perturbed by these restrictions, in fact, they may be encouraged to do more to highlight Ukraine’s plight.

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