Russia has permanently banned 963 Americans from entering the country, including Morgan Freeman. The individuals on the list include politicians, celebrities, and technology leaders, and the decision was made in reaction to US sanctions imposed during the Russia-Ukraine war.
On May 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued an updated list of Americans who are no longer permitted to enter Russia. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg were among those on the list.
Reasons for Morgan Freeman’s suspension
Morgan Freeman’s name was included on the list of Americans who were banned from visiting Russia. The reason for this is his appearance in a video about the Russian government’s involvement in the 2016 US presidential election. The video was published in 2017, and Freeman directed and narrated it himself. It starred actor Rob Reiner, who is also on the banned list.
Morgan Freeman has been into controversy in the past for speaking up and utilizing his resources as an environmental and political activist. In 2021, he and Professor Linda Keena will gift $1 million to the University of Mississippi to establish the Center for Evidence-Based Policing and Reform. Morgan Freeman is well-known for his unusually deep voice and appearances in a variety of film genres. He has also won an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe.
Americans barred from entering Russia
There are 230 individuals on the list, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were also barred. The names of the three dead persons — former Senators John McCain, Harry M. Reid, and Orrin G. Hatch – were also included.
Microsoft President Brad Smith, ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Bret Stephens of the New York Times, and CNN’s Bianna Golodryga were also named. Meanwhile, the names of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close buddy Donald Trump, as well as Barack Obama and George W. Bush, were omitted from the list. In response to the restriction, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared,
“We underscore that Washington’s unfriendly measures, which reverberate against the United States itself, will continue to be met with a befitting rebuke.” Russian counter-sanctions are imposed and intended to compel the dominant American system, which is attempting to impose a neocolonial ‘rules-based global order’ on the rest of the globe, to adjust its conduct and recognize new geopolitical realities.”
I’m sorely disappointed not to be on the Kremlin’s hit list of 963 Americans forever banned from entering Russia. On the other hand, I’m proud that some of my former students have made it: Ron Klain is #353. Samantha Power is #596. Adam Schiff is #933.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) May 21, 2022
