Ukraine’s foreign ministry has criticised HBO for casting Serbian actor Miloš Biković – who is believed to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a starring role in the new season of The White Lotus.
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Biković was given Russian citizenship in 2021 and was personally honoured by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for his contribution to Russian arts and culture. In 2019, the actor said he had been banned from entering Ukraine for national security reasons.
HBO announced earlier this month that Biković would star in the third season of the White Lotus, prompting an immediate backlash from Ukrainian social media users.
“Miloš Biković, 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,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry wrote on X/Twitter on Wednesday. “@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?” it added.
HBO has not yet responded to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, nor has it commented on the subsequent backlash.
Biković has starred in a number of Russian productions and spoken regularly about his admiration of Russian culture.
Putin awarded Biković the Pushkin medal, one of Russia’s top cultural prizes, for advancing Russian culture, at a ceremony in the Kremlin in 2018.
After being awarded Russian citizenship by presidential decree in 2021, the actor wrote in an Instagram post: “It is a great honour to say today: Russia is my homeland,” adding that he was “an active member of Russian society”.
The White Lotus season three is set to hit screens in 2025, after filming on the new episodes was delayed due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes.
Series creator Mike White will return to write and direct the new season, which will be set in Thailand and revolve around a different set of guests at a new hotel.
Other actors joining the show include Jason Isaacs, known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, as well as Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible, True Detective), Parker Poser (Beau is Afraid, The Good Wife) and Leslie Bibb (Iron Man, Jupiter’s Legacy).
Also joining the cast will be Dom Hetrakul and Tayme Thapthimtong, alongside Natasha Rothwell, who will return to her role as Belinda, the spa manager from Season One.
Speculation around the identities of the new cast members has been swirling for several months. In December, Jack Black was moved to deny that he would be involved in the new season, after fans had raised his name as a possibility.
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