CELEBS: HILARY SWANK & JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME
DICTATOR: RAMZAN KADRYOV OF CHECHNYA
WHEN: 2011
Oscar-winner Hilary Swank was paid a reported six figures to attend the 35th birthday party of Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnyna. Swank didn’t have to do much at the gala but look pretty, slap on a smile, and tell the dictator how honored she was to be in the Chechen capital. (And that’s Jean-Claude Van Damme next to her in the picture above, who told Kadyrov that he loved him.) But when the press caught wind of it, Swank found herself against the ropes. It seems she and her reps overlooked Kadyrov’s record of torture and execution of rivals and that his leadership landed Chechnyna on a list of the most repressive societies in the world. To her credit, Swank owned up to the mistake: “Shame on me. The bottom line is I should know where I’m going and I should do better research.”
NEXT: MICHAEL JACKSON
