Hilary Swank picked Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show” for her coming out party after her exuberant embrace of brutal Chechnya dictator Ramzan Kadyrov on his birthday. Did Hil help or hurt herself?
Swank has been out of sight since human rights groups blew up at her and she massacred her staff over the public relations disaster in October.
She was subsequently dropped by her PR firm, 42West, in a dispute over how to crisis manage the public relations disaster, and Hil apparently has been flying solo ever since.
Jay was nothing but sweetness and light during the interview and never even laid a glove on her. But that may have done more harm than good.
Swank appeared dissembling and went unchallenged when she made some statements that seem pretty far fetched for a supposedly intellectual Hollywood type with liberal political credentials.
“Human rights organizations had reached out to warn me before I went but I did not get those warnings, they weren’t shared with me,” she said, suggesting a possible reason she cleaned house afterward.
“The bottom line is I should know where I’m going and should do better research,” she said.
There’s no question brutes like Kadyrov hire celebrities to give their regimes a sheen of legitimacy.
During the visit for Kadyrov’s 35th birthday party on Oct. 5, Swank gave the dictator his money’s worth for her paid appearance.
“I could feel the spirit of the people, and I could see that everyone was so happy,” she said at the party. “Happy birthday, Mr President!”.
Then, she added about the country: “I read. I do my research.”
During the interview, however, Swank said just the opposite.
“The bottom line is I should know where I’m going and should do better research,” she told Jay. “I actually didn’t know that Chechnya was separate from Russia,” she said.
Apparently she overlooked reports that Kadyrov is widely accused of torturing dissidents, assassinating political opponents and encouraging citizens to abuse women who dress “immodestly.”
Actor Jean Claude Van Damme, UK singer Seal and British violinist Vanessa Mae also accepted appearance fees to attend, and also drew heat from groups like the Human Rights Foundation.
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