Russia has placed actor Morgan Freeman on its list of almost 1,000 US citizens permanently banned from entering the country.
Russia’s foreign ministry released a list of 963 Americans who will no longer be allowed to travel to the country due to their support of sanctions against Russia.
As well as Freeman, US President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg were also included on the list, alongside numerous others including the former Senator John McCain, who died in 2018.
In a news release, the ministry said: “In the context of response to the constantly imposed anti-Russian sanctions by the United States and in connection with incoming requests about the personal composition of our national ‘stop list’, the Russian Foreign Ministry publishes a list of American citizens who are permanently banned from entering the Russian Federation.”
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It went on: "We emphasise that the hostile actions taken by Washington, which boomerang against the United States itself, will continue to receive a proper rebuff.
"Russian counter-sanctions are forced and aimed at forcing the ruling American regime... to change its behaviour, recognising new geopolitical realities.”
It’s reported that Freeman was placed on the list after featuring in a 2017 video from an organisation named The Committee to Investigate Russia, that accused Russia of meddling with democracy in the US.
In the video, Freeman said: “We have been attacked. We are at war. Imagine this movie script: a former KGB spy, angry at the collapse of his motherland, plots a course for revenge. Taking advantage of the chaos, he works his way up through the ranks of a post-Soviet Russia and becomes president.
“He establishes an authoritarian regime, then he sets his sights on his sworn enemy: the United States.”
The clip was directed by filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner, who has also been placed on the banned list.
Back in March, the Kremlin announced sanctions on several US political figures - including President Biden. Other key officials included in the sanctions list were Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and CIA Director William Burns, as well as high profile non-elected figures including Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden.
The 'stop list' barred Biden and 12 others named on the list from entering Russia, the state-backed news agency TASS confirmed.
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Claire Reid