Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Ben Stiller are on a list of 25 people from the United States who are now banned from entering Russia.
A post on the Russian Foreign Ministry website on Monday (September 5) said this was in response to US sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
“In response to the growing personal sanctions imposed on Russian citizens by the Joe Biden administration, another group of U.S. members of Congress, senior officials, business, professional and cultural figures have been permanently banned from entering the Russian Federation imposed,” the statement reads.
That Penn and Stiller are now on the list is no surprise.
Penn visited Ukraine back in February to film a documentary about the launch of the invasion. He had started talking to Selensky years ago. The documentary was originally intended to accompany the rise of the Ukrainian president. However, the project took a sudden turn with Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Sean Penn even wanted to go to war for Ukraine
The government of Ukraine had specifically acknowledged the 62-year-old’s commitment to the truth with an official statement. “Our country is grateful to him for this demonstration of courage and honesty,” it said. The actor later even publicly considered going to war for Ukraine.
In June, as United Nations Ambassador (UNHCR), Stiller met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and also visited occupied settlements in Kyiv.
A few weeks ago, actors Morgan Freeman, Mark Zuckerberg, Hilary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were blacklisted.