Former Hollywood actor Steven Seagal has stated his support for President Vladimir Putin and Russia at his 70th birthday party.
The star of such films, like Under Siege made his statements while at a Moscow restaurant. The story, which was reported in the UK The Times newspaper, says that the birthday bash was attended by close allies of Vladimir Putin including TV host Vladimir Soleviev and Russian journalist Margarita Simonyan. Both of these individuals are subject to Western sanctions.
Seagal said at the event:
“[Putin] is one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader, alive today.”
And:
“I love all of you and we stand together, through thick and through thin.”
This isn’t the first time that Seagal has made controversial comments during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In March, he told reporters:
“Most of us have friends and family in Russia and Ukraine. I look at both as one family and really believe it is an outside entity spending huge sums of money on propaganda to provoke the two countries to be at odds with each other. My prayers are that both countries will come to a positive, peaceful resolution where we can live and thrive together in peace.”
Seagal, who is known to be friendly with Putin, gained Russian citizenship in 2017, with many citing tax reasons for doing so. Seagal was then appointed a special envoy by the Putin regime in 2018. The Russian state said Seagal’s role would be to:
“Facilitate relations between Russia and the United States in the humanitarian field, including cooperation in culture, arts, public and youth exchanges.”
Currently, Seagal is banned from entering Ukraine.
Seagal has long been dogged by criticism relating to his political views, such as supporting the 2014 annexation of Crimea. He has also had several altercations with stuntmen on film sets and been accused of multiple sexual assaults during his career.
[Based on reporting by: msn]
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