Ukraine takes aim at ‘White Lotus’ star: ‘Kremlin’s foreign mouthpiece’
Ukraine officials slammed HBO for casting Serbian actor Miloš Biković in Season 3 of “The White Lotus” — saying that he’s “the Kremlin’s foreign mouthpiece.”
“Milos Bikovic, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3,” read a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ account.
“@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?”
Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Biković, 36, shared a poll showing that trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin was higher than for Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Deadline.
Biković has starred in a handful of Russian films, including “Sunstroke” (2014), directed by Oscar winner Nikita Mikhalkov. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that Biković filmed a movie in Crimea, the peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Biković was awarded Russian citizenship in 2021, when he told the Serbian media outlet Telegraf that he felt an affinity with the country’s culture, according to Deadline.
In its post criticizing HBO, the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs embedded a video accusing Biković of supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The clip shows Biković receiving a medal of honor from Putin in 2018 for his contribution to Russian arts and culture, according to Variety.
“If this is the dark side of comedy, then HBO just did it really well,” the video says. “Dear HBO, do you really support genocide?”
The Post has reached out to HBO and representatives for Biković for comment.
Biković was cast in Season 3 of “The White Lotus” Jan. 12 along with Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi and Shalini Peiris.
The next installment of HBO’s dark comedy anthology series, created by Mike White, will be set in Thailand and follows a new group of hotel guests. It’s scheduled to begin filming next month.
Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey and Tayme Thapthimthong round out the cast, with returning cast member Natasha Rothwell.
Season 1, which premiered in 2021 with stars Jennifer Coolidge, Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton and Jake Lacy (among many others), was set in Hawaii and snared 20 Emmy nominations.
The series ultimately won 10 statuettes, the most of any series that year, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Season 2, which dropped in December 2022, took place in Sicily and collected 23 Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series.
Coolidge, 62, took home an Emmy as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 75th Emmy Awards, which aired Jan. 15 on ABC with host Anthony Anderson.
