Hilary Swank Paid To Attend Event With Chechen Leader Accused Of Torture & Murder
Posted on Oct 26, 2011 @ 07:30AM
By Alexis Tereszcuk
Senior Radar Reporter
Hilary Swank made a huge amount of money from her recently criticized attendance at an event also attended by the brutal leader of Chechnya - RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned!
After receiving flak for her appearance, the two-time Academy Award winning actress apologized for attending the event with Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader who is accused of murder, torture and abductions by human rights groups.
The 37-year-old actress attended the opening of a residential and commercial complex in Grozny City on October 5, and according to her rep she decided to attend the opening “because the construction project was described to her as a symbol of hope for the people of Chechnya, a region that had been devastated by war. Specifically, she was advised that the project was instrumental in the creation of jobs and other opportunities for the people of Chechnya.”
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“I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights,” Swank said in a statement to RadarOnline.com. “I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights.”
Once Swank arrived at the event she was asked to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday and “not wanting to be rude, she obliged.”
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She says that she was unaware of the allegations made by human rights groups about the Chechen president’s alleged atrocities, and no mention was made of the payment from the organization.
The Human Rights Foundation said they sent Swank a letter in September detailing Kadyrov’s past crimes trying to dissuade her from attending the event, but never received a response.
Swanks’ rep denies that she was paid a significant “honorarium” for her attendance, and claims the actress will be donating the funds she did receive. "She received a significantly lower honorarium, and she is donating the money to various charitable organizations," the rep said.
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The Daily Juice
Same celebrities who r so 'informed' that they have 2 preach 2 ME when a trendy cause comes around & they r able 2 b paid/be in front of a camera. As many said here, donating the $$ to a charity @ this point is damage control.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 1:19pm
Same celebrities who r so 'informed' that they have to preach to ME when a trendy cause comes around and they are able to be paid/be in front of a camera. As many said here, donating the $$ to a charity at this point is damage control.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 1:18pm
Willing to step on human rights for a quiet $1.5 million. Hypocracy
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 12:02pm
I'm not buying it. What a disgrace. Did she KEEP the money? An apology is worthless. She needs to donate the money to a children's charity or she's totally bogus.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 10:21am
She will probably come forward now and 'donate' the money. Weird that actors a) don't Google events they're getting paid highly to attend and b) pretend no money was exchanged when someone questions them about their poor choices.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 9:56am
A Ho will do anything for $$$ this skank is no different
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 8:31am
It is pretty classless for a celebrity to receive cash to show up at a party. It is expected for reality tv stars. But for a 2 time academy award actress it is very low. It is like Lindsey Lohan taking a million from playboy.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 8:19am
This stupid greedy skunk needs to be black-balled in Hollywood.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 7:48am
Looks like she knew but 1.5 Million was just too good to turn down. A few hours one night - easy to look the other way and collect the big reward.
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 7:47am
did she keep the money? why pay her? why not put it toward helping the victims? do they even know who she is?
Posted Wed, 10/26/2011 - 7:22am