When it comes to saying the right things, some stars can be at the short end of the stick. For many years now, when some uninformed celebs speak up about horrific events, they can miss the mark. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some Hollywood stars have spoken up on Twitter, much to the chagrin of many. For fans, celebrity reactions to Ukraine can be a hit or a miss, and tone-deaf opinions do not help either.
Some Hollywood stars speak out, albeit awkwardly
Celebrity reactions to Ukraine are hardly surprising. They can be the perfect people to rally others to protest, given that the spotlight is always shining on them. But some of these stars might have wanted to think twice before posting their thoughts on social media.
First on the list is Joy Behar, the co-host of the morning show, The View. While discussing the war in Ukraine with her co-hosts, Behar voiced her worry about her upcoming trip to Italy. The host expressed her frustrations because of the increasingly dire situation in Western Europe. She shared that she wanted to go to Italy for a while now but couldn’t because of the pandemic. “And now this,” she adds.
Next up is a tone-deaf tweet by John Cena, which promoted his HBO show, Peacemaker, with the Ukraine crisis. The ex-WWE star said that if he could summon the powers of a real-life Peacemaker, it would be a great time to do so. While the message appeared to have good intentions, cross-promoting your show amid a once-in-a-generation war did not sit well with many.
Meanwhile, AnnaLynne McCord, the star from 90210, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a spoken word poetry piece. In her piece, she repeats, “If I was your mother” to Putin for a good minute. The video immediately pushed many to create memes of the awkward celebrity reactions to Ukraine.
Ukrainian celebs draw sympathy for countrymen
On the other side of the coin, Ukrainian stars have also poured their hearts out about the conflict in their homeland. In fact, some Ukrainian celebrities in Hollywood are using their platform to fight injustice and call for peace.
Mila Jovovich, the star of the Resident Evil franchise, has spoken up about the invasion of Ukraine. Jovovich was born in Kyiv in 1975 when the country was under Soviet control. The actress, who has roots in both Russia and Ukraine, left the Soviet Union in 1980 for the US. She shares her reaction to the war in an Instagram post, where she shares groups that help with the situation.
Similar to Jovovich, Mila Kunis is also one of the many Ukrainian celebrities in America. The actress left Ukraine during the Soviet era to settle with her family in the US. She has yet to give a comment on the issue, but her husband Ashton Kutcher tweeted in solidarity with Ukraine.
Hayden Panettiere, meanwhile, who has a daughter with former Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitchscher, urged her fans to pray for her family, friends, and the people of Ukraine. She then directed them to pour support for her ex-husband, who is now enlisted in the country’s reserve army, and his brother, the mayor of Kyiv.
Making sense of the conflict
Clearly, stars with direct connections to Ukraine had more meaningful and helpful things to say about the crisis. Celebrity reactions to Ukraine are a mixed bag, but at the end of the day, they are just normal people trying to make sense of the ongoing conflict.
This is the second time in a few short years that Russia has attacked Ukraine. While the people of Ukraine intend to keep their peace, the Kremlin seems to have stopped listening to their plea, and people can only hope for the best in terms of conflict resolution.
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