'Why Are you Siding With Vlad?': Oliver Stone Confronted by Chris Wallace Over His Support For Putin During Tense Interview
Sept. 27 2023, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone is under fire after being scrutinized for his "fawning" interviews with Russian President Vladimir Putin, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Oliver Stone directed several iconic films such as 'Platoon,' 'JFK,' and 'Natural Born Killers.'
The criticism was brought up by CNN+ anchor Chris Wallace in a clip of an upcoming interview on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace.
The anchor asked Stone about his lack of challenging questions with Putin during their interviews for a four-part Showtime documentary series in 2017.
In the clip, Wallace wasted no time in pressing Stone on the issue, telling the film director, "I think it's fair to say that you are most controversial these days for a series of interviews that you did with Vladimir Putin… in which you've been criticized for being too friendly, and even fawning … Why didn't you challenge Putin more in those interviews?"
Stone, clearly defensive, responded forcefully, "I'm sorry, Chris, that is absolute b------! Look at the fourth hour, for example. This is in the fourth hour and constantly, I'm pushing him in this interview..."
Vladimir Putin has been accused of killing his political opponents in the past.
Not backing down, Wallace probed further, asking Stone if he challenged Putin when he made certain contentious claims.
The filmmaker justified his approach by saying, "Sometimes you have to play the game of getting an interview. If you look at the..." before getting interrupted by Wallace.
The CNN+ anchor then raised concerns about not addressing the accusations of Putin being involved in the killing of his political opponents.
Stone denied having seen any concrete evidence of such accusations, leading Wallace to question Stone's stance on the matter.
Stone accused the anchor of not giving Putin a fair chance.
"Are you really sitting here, Oliver, saying that you think that Putin has been unjustly accused of attacking or killing his political opponents?" Wallace asked.
Stone replied, "Again, I have to ask you, what's the motive to do this? If somebody…"
The host interrupted yet again to answer Stone's question, saying, "Because he is a dictator, and he doesn't like people who are a threat."
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Putin has ruled over Russia since 1999.
The tension escalated when Wallace quoted the Natural Born Killers director's previous comment that the Russian President is not the monster portrayed by American propaganda.
Stone accused the anchor of not giving Putin a fair chance and asked him to consider what the Russian people think.
Wallace countered, "Oliver, the question I would ask is why are you giving Vladimir Putin such a break? Why are you siding with Vladimir Putin…"
The clip abruptly ends with Stone quickly interjected, clarifying, "I'm not siding with anybody."
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As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Platoon filmmaker faced serious criticism for his comments about Putin during a 2022 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, where he remembered the Russian leader as a "Patriot."
"It's been three years since I saw him for the last time, but the man I knew had nothing to do with the mad, irresponsible and murderous man that the media present today comparing him to Hitler and Stalin," Stone told Fridman, referring to the Russian dictator as "rational, calm, and always acting in the interest of the Russia people."
