There will be no late night laughs in Moscow, comrade. Or anywhere else in Russia, for that matter.
The Russian government has permanently banned talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers from entering the country. The three were part of a list of 500 Americans on a list released Friday by the Foreign Ministry, which stated that the decision was made in response to U.S. sanctions.
Also on the list was former President Barack Obama, CNN anchor Erin Burnett, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough, and former NBC News anchor Brian Williams.
President Biden’s longtime adviser Anita Dunn was also banned, as was acting Voice of America chief Yolanda Lopez. They join a number of lesser-known military, law enforcement, academics and employees of arms suppliers and tech firms.
The Foreign Ministry claimed the exclusions were people “involved in the spread of Russophobic attitudes and fakes.”
Previously, Russia has banned actors Ben Stiller, Morgan Freeman, and Sean Penn from the country.