Ben Stiller and Sean Penn Earn Permanent Travel Ban

By Daniel S. Levine

The Russian government announced sanctions on 25 Americans, including actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn, for their vocal support of Ukraine. Penn is an outspoken activist, even filming a Vice documentary in Ukraine shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin began an invasion of the country. Stiller is a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner of Refugees and has also visited Ukraine.

Stiller and Penn were among "high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures" who were banned from entering Russia in response to the sanctions U.S. President Joe Biden has imposed on Putin, his family, and other Russian officials. The other U.S. citizens on the list include Senators Kyrsten 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 notes Variety.

"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," reads a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, translated to English. "The following is a list of names of American citizens who are included in the Russian 'stop list,' based on the principle of reciprocity."

Stiller met with Ukrainian refugees in Poland in June, before he traveled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On World Refugee Day, Stiller appeared in a video for the United Nations, making clear his support for those displaced by war. "I'm meeting people who have been impacted by the war and hearing how it's changed their lives. War and violence are devastating people all over the world," the Meet the Parents actor said. "Nobody chooses to flee their homes. Seeking safety is a right and it needs to be upheld for every person."

Penn was in Ukraine filming a documentary about the country for Vice when the invasion began. He also interviewed Zelensky and said in April he considered "taking up arms" against Russia himself. Penn also condemned Putin's invasion in a statement earlier this year.

"Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn't relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind," Penn said, via Entertainment Tonight. "President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost."

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