Ukraine War: Hollywood star Ben Stiller brutally trolled for meeting Zelenskyy

By Team Newsable | First Published Jun 21, 2022, 4:11 PM IST

Hollywood star Ben Stiller on Monday met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Ukraine; called him a ‘hero’ amid the Russian war.

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Hollywood star Ben Stiller met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and called the Ukrainian President his 'hero'. The Zoolander actor has been meeting with refugees in Poland and Ukraine as part of his role as an ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

It was an honour to meet President on as part of my visit with UNHCR to stand in solidarity with people forced to flee in Ukraine and worldwide, and bring more attention to the humanitarian situation. pic.twitter.com/zpNpva233j

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller)

Upon meeting the Ukraine President, the 56-year-old actor shook hands with Zelenskyy and told him, "It's a great honour for me. You are my hero. You quit a great acting career for this."

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"Not as great as you," Zelenskyy replied in English.

Before running for President, Zelensky was a comedic actor and the voice of Paddington in Ukraine.

Also read: Russian radio station hacked; starts playing Ukrainian military anthem, anti-war songs

Stiller went on, "What you have done, the way you rallied the country and for the world, it's really inspiring. I feel that it's hard to understand what's going on here if you haven't been here."

"You are my hero", - American actor met with pic.twitter.com/btntbHM0rj

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en)

Stiller, whose Hollywood credits include Zoolander, Meet the Fockers, and Dodgeball, also visited the town of Irpin and talked to people directly affected by the war.

"You see it on TV, you see it on social media, it's something else to actually see it and feel it and then to talk to people. We have talked to a bunch of people," the Tropic Thunder star said.

Also, on Monday, the Hollywood star met with the new US Ambassador in Ukraine and commended her work to re-open the American Embassy in Kyiv. Ambassador Bridget Brink said Stiller's visit "brought much-needed attention to humanitarian needs during the largest and fastest humanitarian crisis in recent memory."

Stiller, who started working with the UNHCR in 2016, has travelled with the body to meet refugees in Germany, Jordan, Guatemala and Lebanon.

Also read: Poise amidst wreckage: Graduation waltz of Ukrainian students leaves world numb

While a few lauded Stiller's courage and noted the importance of his visit, some brutally trolled the Hollywood actor and called the Russia-Ukraine war a complete sham. Here's a look at what some people said on Twitter:

Are we still supposed to believe this war is real? This is the weirdest shit. https://t.co/vTSHd2JEpF

— General Swarming (@GSwarming)

Coolest... warzone... EVER!! https://t.co/VTdoUTEr4i pic.twitter.com/IQ5FYdbLxG

— + (@IndyT24)

Actors doing what they do: acting. https://t.co/vLZ4dyOIPe

— The Pamphleteer ✰ ✰ ✰ (@realpamphleteer)

🎵Here’s a story of a man named Stiller. 🎶
Ben Stiller will only visit people with the same skin color and same phenotype features as him but will avoid brown people dying in Yemen and Syria concurrent conflicts. Racism at work from white passing folks. Gotcha. https://t.co/WAfK5xJjES pic.twitter.com/6AwX1GavBx

— Martín de Porres (@ichbin_ironhill)

This entire war is a sham https://t.co/zHFmlb2HGf

— KingsleyZizzou (@Kingsley_Zizzou)

Hollywood in Ukraine uh so 😬 Cringe https://t.co/PSfV3hciVm

— 🌹CHCU562 ⚓️ (@Cuevas562)

This is cringe. Zelensky has been fighting a war for 3+ months and celebrities are visiting him like his time is nothing. Soldiers fighting and everyone here is smiling https://t.co/Agswo0YwVL

— Ol Chiefy (@ChiefFunStuff)

https://t.co/osnonvJO0r pic.twitter.com/PJiIgRqte5

— RRfR 🎥 (@rfdztt)

Why is this a surprise? It was preordained. https://t.co/aPeeDOyDEM pic.twitter.com/8IWcnGtsjX

— Robert A George (@RobGeorge)

Is this a trailer for Tropic Thunder 2? https://t.co/xRpumhmidt

— SarahLee (@sarailola)

Okay how does this help https://t.co/517qfTv5yE

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech)

Just went full redacted https://t.co/71eQEfWsV3 pic.twitter.com/R1Uk7tjdIB

— THCrypt◎🐒🦠🫡 (@CatonZeMoon)

Se viene Tropical Thunder II. https://t.co/T9mIbMemEg pic.twitter.com/XW5slm4Z5M