An actor in an HBO show called White Lotus has been canceled. Milos Bikovic plays the part of a Wellness guru named Russian Valentin. He was dropped from the series because the foreign ministry of Ukraine demanded it. According to the New York Times, they claimed “without any evidence” that Bikovic supports “Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
It’s not likely he does since he wishes it had never happened.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministry of Ukraine made accusations against Bikovic on social media, writing, “HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?”
Bikovic announced he was hired on January 12.
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In 2018, Bikovic received the Pushkin medal directly from Russian President Putin. The medal honored his work in the arts.
In 2022, Bikovic wrote on Instagram: “War and bloodshed on any side reminds us of how far humanity is from global unity and love. God save the lives of all those who are now in danger!”
From the Times:
Ukraine’s foreign ministry and Bikovic did not respond to requests for comment. An HBO spokesman said questions should be directed to Bikovic’s representatives.
President Biden has called Russia’s invasion genocide, and The New York Times has collected evidence of brutalities by Russia, including the willful killing of noncombatants.
A 79-second video that Ukraine’s foreign ministry posted on social media interspersed scenes from “The White Lotus” with clips of Bikovic accepting the award from Putin and previous comments it said the actor had made about Russia. In a voice-over, it claimed that Bikovic was “the Kremlin’s foreign mouthpiece.”
During Bikovic’s acceptance speech for the Pushkin Medal, he emphasized unity between Russia and Serbia. “What a joy for Russians and Serbs in our homeland because we have the same worldview,” he said in Russian.
Ukraine barred Bikovic from entering the country in 2019 for what it called national security reasons. At the time, he told a Serbian publication that “from the human and poetic point of view, the situation is absurd and interesting.”
These are the authoritarian leaders the US supports. Thanks, Joe. The Serbian actor is in trouble because he got a medal in 2018 before any of this happened and doesn’t want war and bloodshed on any side. He also wished God would save all the lives of those in danger. In Ukraine’s administration, that’s reason enough to cancel someone.
This is who we are now.
HBO sure is cowardly.
The Times is right. There is no evidence, but the dictators in Ukraine feel this is enough evidence to ruin someone’s career.
And Why? Because Ukraine…
HBO and “the White Lotus” just lost out, big time.
Milos Bikovic is irreplaceable, an interesting actor.Video from “Beyond the Edge” (2019) | Official Trailerhttps://t.co/pX82owXPoj pic.twitter.com/xSoU6hPW5M
— the Lemniscat (@theLemniscat) February 3, 2024
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