Ukraine’s international ministry criticized HBO this week after Milos Bikovic was solid within the third season of “The White Lotus,” saying with out proof that the Serbian actor had supported Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
HBO introduced on Jan. 12 that Bikovic, 36, could be becoming a member of the darkish comedy about rich vacationers at island resorts. On Wednesday, the international ministry of Ukraine made the 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 was awarded the Pushkin Medal, which honors contributions to Russian arts and tradition, by President Vladimir V. Putin in 2018 and acquired Russian citizenship by presidential decree in 2021.
In February 2022, the day after the invasion started, Bikovic said on Instagram that he wished the struggle had not occurred. “War and bloodshed on any side reminds us of how far humanity is from global unity and love,” he wrote in Russian and Serbian. “God save the lives of all those who are now in danger!”
Ukraine’s international ministry and Bikovic didn’t reply to requests for remark. An HBO spokesman mentioned questions needs to 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, together with the willful killing of noncombatants.
A 79-second video that Ukraine’s international ministry posted on social media interspersed scenes from “The White Lotus” with clips of Bikovic accepting the award from Putin and former feedback it mentioned the actor had made about Russia. In a voice-over, it claimed that Bikovic was “the Kremlin’s foreign mouthpiece.”
Throughout Bikovic’s acceptance speech for the Pushkin Medal, he emphasised unity between Russia and Serbia. “What a joy for Russians and Serbs in our homeland because we have the same worldview,” he mentioned in Russian.
Ukraine barred Bikovic from coming into the nation in 2019 for what it referred to as nationwide safety causes. On the time, he told a Serbian publication that “from the human and poetic point of view the situation is absurd and interesting.”
Earlier than he was solid in “The White Lotus,” Bikovic acted in motion pictures together with “South Wind,” which follows a gang member in Belgrade; “Sunstroke,” about navy officers remembering the collapse of the Russian Empire; “Ice,” during which he performs a determine skater; and “The Balkan Line,” a couple of navy operation in the course of the Kosovo struggle.
Season 3 of “The White Lotus” is ready to start manufacturing in Thailand subsequent month and is scheduled to air in 2025. It should function Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey and the returning solid member Natasha Rothwell.
