For the previous decade, the French actor Gérard Depardieu has been one of many closest Western celebrities to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
In 2013, the film star grew to become a Russian citizen to keep away from taxes in France. In a letter to Russian state tv on the time, Mr. Depardieu stated, “I like your president, Vladimir Putin, very a lot and it’s mutual.” Mr. Putin awarded Mr. Depardieu Russian citizenship at a particular dinner that 12 months.
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been rising final month, Mr. Depardieu even went on French tv to say, “Depart Vladimir alone.”
Now, Mr. Depardieu has taken a shocking step towards ruining that cherished friendship when, on Tuesday, the actor denounced the battle in Ukraine in an interview with Agence France-Presse, the French information service. “Russia and Ukraine have all the time been brother nations,” Mr. Depardieu stated. “I’m in opposition to this fratricidal battle,” he added. “I say, ‘Cease the weapons and negotiate.’”
Finest identified for Nineties motion pictures together with “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “Inexperienced Card,” Mr. Depardieu later posted a part of his assertion on Instagram. His agent didn’t reply to an interview request.
Mr. Depardieu’s feedback are unlikely to alter many Ukrainians’ views of the actor. In 2015, the Ukrainian authorities included Mr. Depardieu on an inventory of cultural figures who have been a menace to the nation’s safety. It didn’t state a purpose, however Ukrainian newspapers linked the choice to feedback Mr. Depardieu had made questioning Ukraine’s independence. In 2014, on the Baltic Pearl film pageant in Latvia, Mr. Depardieu instructed reporters that he liked each Russia and “Ukraine, which is a part of Russia.”
The French tax exile isn’t the one well-known actor to have taken Russian citizenship: Steven Seagal, the American-born star of motion motion pictures like “Beneath Siege,” was naturalized in 2016. On Thursday, Mr. Seagal’s representatives didn’t instantly reply to a request to debate the actor’s views on the battle in Ukraine.
In recent times, Mr. Depardieu has been within the information for controversies other than his Russia connections. In 2018, French prosecutors investigated rape allegations in opposition to him, however dropped the case the next 12 months due to a scarcity of proof.