WHY MORGAN FREEMAN WAS BANNED FROM VISITING RUSSIA
By Adeniyi Onaara
On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced a permanent ban on at least 963 prominent Americans in response to sanctions imposed on the country as a result of Ukraine’s invasion.
The list includes President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who names Hollywood star Morgan Freeman in an unexpected move that has social media buzzing.
According to the list, Freeman is “a well-known film actor who, in September 2017, recorded a video message accusing Russia of conspiring against the United States and calling for a fight against our country.”
It added that the actor “accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using ‘cyber warfare to attack democracies around the world,’ and to his ‘sworn enemy, the United States.'”
Is there a 2017 video?
Yes, there is! In 2017 the 84-year-old actor headlined a video by Committee to Investigate Russia, a nonprofit aiming to spread information about Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
In the introductory video, Freeman likened Russia’s alleged influence on the elections to a movie script featuring a former KJB spy who sets out on a revenge mission. The actor ultimately accused Russia of continued attacks on America’s democracy describing the U.S as being ‘at War’.
“We need our president to speak directly to us and tell us the truth,” Morgan says referring to former President Donald Trump. “We need him to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office and say ‘My fellow Americans, during this past election, we came under attack by the Russian government.’”
The infamous Russophobia list also features deceased politicians such as former Senator John McCain, R-Ariz.; Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev; and former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Melissa Drisko.