Russia bans Sean Penn and Ben Stiller from entering country

Ben Stiller and Sean Penn have been permanently banned from entering Russia, the Kremlin announced Monday.

The actors are listed among 23 other United States citizens newly barred from the country, including Senators Kirsten Sinema, Richard Scott, Patrick Toomey Jr. and Mark Kelly, as well as Deputy Ministers of Trade Matthew S. Alexrod, Don Graves, Thea Kandler and Jeremy Pelter, and Minister of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the group, which also included business leaders, academics and government officials, would be banned permanently from entering Russia.

An official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, translated to English, reads: “In response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the Biden Administration against Russian citizens, against another group of persons from among members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures (25 people), a ban on entry into the Russian Federation on a permanent basis. The following is a list of names of American citizens who are included in the Russian ‘stop list,’ based on the principle of reciprocity.”

This news comes following Stiller and Penn’s advocacy for Ukraine amid the country’s ongoing war with Russia. Serving as goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Stiller met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in June.