Hollywood loves to stick its nose into political matters from the safety of its out-of-touch-with-reality and privileged vantage point, but this might be one of the very few times that a Hollywood connection has significance. Most people don’t know that Hayden Panettiere is connected to the Ukraine/Crimea/Russian crisis that’s currently going on in Eastern Europe through her fiance, boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Wladimir’s family, and especially his brother Vitali Klitschko, are hugely involved in the politics and leadership of Ukraine. Vitali was actually demanding that protesters fight back against the police, even as people were dying ever day. As one of the highest profile and most respected leaders of the pro-West opposition to Russia, he urged the protesters to fight back, telling them, “We will not go anywhere. This is an island of freedom and we will defend it.”
Vitali was also one of the major players involved in getting the Moscow backed leader Viktor Yanukovych, ousted from power, which obviously then led to the invasion by their revanchist neighbor. Wladimir was in Ukraine recently alongside Hayden, providing public support to his brother and their cause.
Hayden obviously will support her fiance and his family, so what’s she going to say when people ask her about the situation in Ukraine? Remaining silent is tantamount to taking sides, and she really can’t afford to do that, not when her future brother-in-law is one of the most power political influences in Ukraine right now. My guess is that we won’t be seeing Haydn doing any guest appearances in Russia in the near future.