Oscar-winning actress
Hilary Swank has reportedly sacked staff responsible for her appearance at the birthday party of the president of Chechnya. In a YouTube video showing her appearance, the star said she was honoured to be at Ramzan Kadyrov's 35th celebration and gushed how happy people living in the Russian province looked. The Million Dollar Baby star
accepted a six-figure sum to make a personal appearance but was left humiliated after she hit newspaper headlines and has since claimed she was not fully aware of what the actual event was about. It is now believed that
Jason Weinberg, Swank's friend and manager of eight years, was fired for the incident last week, according to the Independent on Sunday.
Swank, who is with Hollywood's most powerful talent agency CAA, has also reportedly asked that two other people on her management team, Arnie Yavor and Josh Lieberman, be moved. A fourth person,
Lauren Hale, who works for CAA and travelled with the star to Grozny has also allegedly been fired for her part in the appearance. “After five days of wall-to-wall criticism, this is weak, especially given that the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) sent a warning directly to Swank through her manager on Sept. 26 -- a full 10 days before the party,” HRF’s Sarah Wasserman said in a statement.
“We offered to brief her, but her manager cut us short and responded that Hilary had no plans to attend. ... Worse, the video of her birthday wishes shows her boasting about her knowledge of Chechnya and how she ‘reads’ and ‘does her research.’ The more important question now is what is Swank going to do with the blood money paid from Kadyrov’s coffers? She sidesteps the issue completely.” Weinberg's role in the saga was particularly unfortunate. Just before the event, the talent manager – whose clients include Madonna, Demi Moore and Lindsay Lohan – wrote an email to the New York-based Human Rights Foundation saying Swank had "no current plans to attend". That was clearly untrue. But a source close to the controversy denied a deliberate effort to mislead. "Jason was never properly told about the Grozny event," the source said. "The booking was handled by Hilary's lawyer, Jeff Bernstein, and her team at CAA. Jeff drafted the misleading statement. Jason just sent it. He's the fall guy in all this."
A number of other stars attended the event and included actor Jean Claude Van Damme, English violinist Vanessa Mae and singer Seal. Both
Eva Mendes and singer Shakira were asked to attend but both declined. Swank, a prominent Hollywood liberal, released a statement following the event and said she deeply regrets attending the event.
She also vowed to give her fee to numerous charities. 'I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment,' she said. 'I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights. If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone.' The 37-year-old's spokesman issued a fuller statement saying
she attended the opening of a new residential and commercial complex in Grozny City, including the largest sports complex in southern Russia. 'There were various guests from all over the world in attendance at that event, including Chechnya's president.' The Chechen leader has been accused of torture, abductions and killings. "Hilary values her liberal credentials and is close to Michelle Obama. She's really upset by what happened," says a source close to the affair. "It's partly her fault. But what can she do? She can hardly fire herself." Swank, 37, who commands up to $8m a film, has decided not to terminate her relationship with CAA: her partner of five years, John Campisi, works for the company.
Swank has expressed remorse. The same is not true of Van Damme or Mae – or Seal, who used Twitter to bizarrely lambast critics: "You sit there under the umbrella of democracy and never once stop to think how it keeps you dry," he said. Source Source Summary: 1. Hilary Swank has fired her manager and three other members of her agency team have been reassigned or fired. She remains at CAA, where her partner works (
awkward). 2. She promises to donate her appearance fee "to various [unnamed] charitable organizations." 3. Her management was warned about the Chechnyan president's history of human rights violations 10 days before the party by the Human Rights Foundation 4. Swank said in the video of her speech she knows about Chechnya because she "reads" and does her "research" 5. Swank "is close to Michelle Obama" 6. Male celebrities Jean Claude Van Damme and Seal escape criticism. Seal tweets a weird defense.
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