February 09, 2023

Gérard Depardieu Bids Adieu


Gérard Depardieu Bids Adieu
Gérard Depardieu's post calling the war in Ukraine "fratricidal." Gérard Depardieu, Instagram.

In 2013, French actor Gérard Depardieu was granted Russian citizenship so that he could escape France's high taxes. Despite repeatedly praising Putin over the years, in April 2022, in an Instagram post, Depardieu called Russia's War in Ukraine "fratricidal."

Yet in a recent interview with the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, the actor changed his tune.

After Depardieu's 2022 criticism, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "I'd suggest that Depardieu most likely does not fully understand what is happening (...) If necessary, we will be ready to tell him about this and explain so that he understands better."

In his February 4, 2023, interview with the German paper (here in Russian), Depardieu said that he doesn't mix acting with politics and adamantly refused to discuss the invasion, and that "no one can say anything actually intelligent" about the war.

"I am, as before, Russian," Depardieu said. "I love Russian culture. If I love a country, it is always for its culture."

Depardieu currently resides in Europe, but his spokesperson said in May 2022 that the actor would return to Russia at some point in the future. Meanwhile, in response to Depardieu's less-than-patriotic sentiments,State Duma Representative Sultan Khamzaev has threatened to confiscate the actor's properties in Saransk and Grozny and give them to orphans.

 

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