Ben Stiller claps back at 'lies coming from Russian media' that USAID funded his humanitarian trip to Ukraine
Ben Stiller has clapped back at claims that America's embattled government agency tasked with humanitarian relief overseas funded his trip to Ukraine.
Elon Musk, with the go-ahead from President Donald Trump, shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID) over the weekend, alleging the organization was 'criminal' and 'beyond repair'.
Social media posts criticizing the agency went viral on Musk's platform X, including a video claiming American tax dollars were spent sending celebrities to war-torn Ukraine.
Stiller, Sean Penn and Angelina Jolie were among those called out in the video, which claimed USAID spent $4million, $5million and $20million respectively on their humanitarian trips.
But Stiller, who travelled to Kyiv in June 2022 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, has now denied the claims, branding the allegations as 'lies coming from Russian media'.
'I completely self-funded my humanitarian trip to Ukraine,' the Zoolander actor tweeted. 'There was no funding from USAID and certainly no payment of any kind. 100 percent false.'
Neither Penn, who met with Zelensky on his November 2022 humanitarian trip, nor Jolie, who visited Ukraine in April that year, have commented on the video.
However, Musk - who has been tasked to head up Trump's Department of Government Efficiency - retweeted the video, seemingly pushing the narrative that the agency was misspending public funds.
But Stiller travelled to Kyiv in June 2022 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) in a televised meeting in which he told the Ukrainian leader: 'It's a great honor for me. It's really wonderful. You're my hero'
Stiller has now clapped back at claims that the embattled US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded his trip to Ukraine
Stiller visited Ukraine in June 2022 to meet with 'people who've been impacted by the war' and learn how the conflict 'changed their lives'.
During his visit, he met with Zelenksy in a televised meeting and told the Ukrainian President: 'It's a great honor for me. It's really wonderful. You're my hero.'
The Hollywood star then complimented the President on his 'great acting career', to which Zelensky laughed, and replied: 'Not as great as you'.
He also said he was inspired by Zelensky and 'for what you've done in this country and for the world'.
Reflecting on his visit in August that year, the actor described how he was 'really taken by the resilience of the people of Ukraine, and of the president.'
He added: 'His incredible sense of how he has risen to the moment and offered his people leadership and true resolve to get through this awful situation.'
Stiller, a longtime goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR, visited Ukraine on World Refugee Day.
His visit came after Jolie, also a UN goodwill ambassador, went to Ukraine as part of a whistle-stop trip in April that year and made a secret visit to an orphanage.
Sean Penn (R) meets Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky (L) in Kyiv, Ukraine on November 8, 2022
Angelina Jolie visits victims of the Kramatorsk railway station missile strike in Lviv children's hospital, in western Ukraine on April 30, 2022
Social media posts criticizing the agency went viral on Musk's platform X, including a video claiming American tax dollars were spent sending celebrities to war-torn Ukraine. Elon Musk - who has been tasked to head up Trump's Department of Government Efficiency - retweeted the video, seemingly pushing the narrative that the agency was misspending public funds
The actress kept her journey under wraps, with members of her entourage reportedly signing deals banning them from revealing any details.
Local officials had no knowledge of her visit to the orphanage at an undisclosed location around 90 minutes’ drive from the western city of Lviv.
She visited children at a hospital and also spoke to refugees at the train station, which millions of Ukrainians had travelled through when fleeing the war.
Two-time Oscar winner Penn was in Ukraine recording a documentary when Russia invaded on February 24.
He was forced to flee on foot, joining the millions of Ukrainians crossing into Poland in the first days of the war.
He has been a vocal backer of Zelensky ever since and ever returned to Ukraine in June to meet the war-torn country's leader.
Penn was supposed to meet Zelensky ahead of war breaking out. He noted how he didn't have time to see if Zelensky could be a good friend and so 'decided he's a great friend that I love,' noting 'I don't know if I'll see him again'.
'Part of what makes him so particularly extraordinary is that courage, he's the face of so many Ukrainians. I mean this is leadership we aspire to, this is freedom of thought and true leadership that mostly is just so moving,' Penn said at the time.
Ben Stiller in Lypki, Irpin, on June 20, 2022 during a visit to help highlight the growing needs of those who have fled the war in Ukraine
Actor and producer Sean Penn visiting positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the frontline with Russia-backed separatists in Donetsk region, Ukraine, November 18, 2021
Angelina Jolie poses for photo with kids in Lviv, Ukraine, Saturday, Apr. 30, 2022
'Ukraine with all its diversity has a unity we've never seen in modern times with the challenge it has.'
Penn also visited Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv, the sites of alleged atrocities against civilians by Russian forces, and Zelensky has publicly thanked Penn for his support.
While in Ukraine, Penn issued the following statement: '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.
'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.'
