It appears Morgan Freeman and Russia are in the midst of their own personal Cold War.
This past Wednesday, Freeman appeared in a video for the group “Committee to Investigate Russia”, a non-profit organization founded by notable celebrities including Freeman himself and director Rob Reiner. The camp’s purpose is to expose how the Russian government interfered with the 2016 U.S. election. Needless to say, the country wasn’t enthralled with the Hollywood-led expose.
Freeman vs. Russia
It wasn’t long before the Russian media voiced their displeasure over the video, and singled out Freeman for claiming the United States “came under attack by the Russian government” during November’s election.
Rossiya 24 network, a state-controlled news channel, captioned their coverage with the unflattering title “Hysterical Freeman.” The network anchor went as far as to blame Freeman’s “marijuana use” as an alibi for the 80-year-old actor’s personal views on Russia.
To add insult to injury, the news channel even brought a panel of psychiatrists onto the broadcast. One brash doctor deemed that Freeman was suffering from “a Messianic complex” as a result of playing the roles of God and the president in several of his films.
There were also a plethora of other prominent media members who criticized Freeman’s words. Notable Russian film director Yuri Grymov appeared on the news program Vesti to bash Freeman. “I think, the grandpa just got drunk.” Grymoz barbed.
Another Russian television network, Channel Five, claimed Freeman “lost millions of Russian fans in a moment”, and accused the actor of being an “American propaganda mouthpiece.”
Naturally, Russian twitter trolls have joined in on the smear campaign, and concocted the clumsily crafted hashtag “#StopMorganLie.”
Freeman and Cannabis
Freeman is one of Hollywood’s most notable cannabist advocates and hasn’t been coy about smoking weed in the past.
Last year, the actor bashed weed critics on an episode of Larry King Now, claiming the plant is much safer than alcohol, which is legal.
“They can’t continue to say that it’s a dangerous drug when it’s safer than alcohol,” Freeman told King.
Freeman also admitted of cannabis use in a 2015 interview with the Daily Beast. He advocated for its universal legalization and claimed it helps him pmanagepain on a day-to-day basis following a near-fatal car accident he sustained back in 2008.
“My first wife got me into it many years ago. How do I take it? However it comes! I’ll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it! This movement is really a long time coming, and it’s getting legs—longer legs. Now, the thrust is understanding that alcohol has no real medicinal use. ” Freeman explained “I have fibromyalgia pain in this arm, and the only thing that offers any relief is marijuana. They’re talking about kids who have grand mal seizures, and they’ve discovered that marijuana eases that down to where these children can have a life. That right there, to me, says, ‘Legalize it across the board!’”
Furthermore, Freeman has claimed he’ll “never give up the ganja,” while also referring to it as “God’s own weed.”
Russian Media Slams Morgan Freeman for Marijuana Use
Despite Russia’s attempts to patronize one of Hollywood’s most outspoken cannabis advocates, it’s unlikely the “#StopMorganLie” movement will gain traction outside of Russia.
As most regular weed-smokers know, there isn’t a natural correlation between the harmless plant, and fabricating Russian conspiracy theories.
A more suitable explanation could be that Freeman is simply #Woke.
