Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines 2/23
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Actress AnnaLynne McCord is receiving criticism for her commentary on the crisis concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The "90210" star of the CW variety sent a tweet on Thursday that sees her recite a poem to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which she informs him of all the things she would have done "if I was your mother."
"Dear President Vladimir Putin. I'm so sorry that I was not your mother," McCord begins in the self-shot video. "If I was your mother, you would have been so loved, held in the arms of joyous light. Never with this story’s plight, the world unfurled before our eyes a pure demise of nation’s sitting peaceful under a night sky."
"If I was your mother, the world would have been warm. So much laughter and joy and nothing would harm. I can't imagine the stain, the soul-stealing pain that the little boy you must have seen and believed and the formulation of thought quickly taught that you lived in a cruel, unjust world," she continued. "Is this why you now decide no one will get the best of you? Is this why you do not hide nor away shy from taking back the world?"
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"Was it because so early in life, all that strife wracked your little body with fear?" McCord asks Putin. "If I was a mother, if the world was cold, I would've died to make you warm. I'd have died to protect you from the unjust, the violence, the terror, the uncertainty. I would have died to give you life. Oh dear, Mr. President Putin, if only I'd been your mother. Perhaps the torture of unwrit youth would not within your heart imbue ascription to such fealty against that world that you thought was so cruel."
"Perhaps you would hold dear human life. And on this night, instead of Mother Russia you would call me and I would set your mind quite free with the love that only a mother can give and only a mother can take away," the actress pressed.
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"When hold, she doesn't harm at bay and leaves her boy for the promise of a man, whatever your story, Mr. President, Putin, I can't imagine how it feels in your heart, but I know if I was your mother, I would be a start towards the awareness of what a powerful being of light you could be if your mind was only free from the violence you’ve seen when you were just two or three. I cannot believe I was born too late. In a different place when I would have loved you so. Watched to play wherever you go," she concluded.
Following McCord’s Putin plea – which at the time of publishing has garnered more than 9 million views – it didn’t take long for many on social media to liken her address to Gal Gadot’s "Imagine" cover in the early stages of the global pandemic. The cohort of well-off celebrities who participated was criticized for being tone-deaf and insensitive to the plight of average people.
Actress AnnaLynne McCord is receiving criticism for her commentary on Vladimir Putin. (Getty)
"What am I even saying?" one Twitter user responded in meme form, while another commenter echoed a similar sentiment with a memed Twitter reply that reads, "it is with a heavy hearty that I must announce that the celebs are at it again."
"Just sing ‘imagine’ next time. It's easier than whatever this is," wrote another user, with someone else declaring they would "pay a lot of money to un-see this."
"The new Anthropologie ad campaign is really something," quipped one commenter while another predicted: "IF (and that's a big if) Putin sees this, he's probably laughing his a-- off," predicted one person.
McCord’s Twitter account is littered with similar reach-outs and calls to action as the actress’ bio lists her as a "Human Rights Activist" and "Anti Human-Trafficking Ambassador" along with the hashtag calling to "end slavery."
Map depicting Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, the Donbas region held by pro-Russian forces, and nearby countries. (Ian Jopson, Fox Digital)
A pinned tweet atop her profile features a video of what she’s identified as her "purpose" in life to which she writes, "Mine is to fight to #EndSlavery not just of the body but also of the mind!"
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