Russian celebs are losing their jobs and one was jailed after attending a controversial ‘almost naked’ party
A composite image showing, left, a tearful Anastasia Ivleeva apologising in a video, and right, a view of the December 20, 2023 party she hosted that caused massive backlash in Russia.
Anastasia Ivleeva/Telegram/Ostorozhno Novosti via Reuters
Fallout from a raunchy party in Moscow that shocked Russian society has spiraled, with several celebrities facing boycotts, a lawsuit, and even jail time.
Multiple Russian influencers are issuing groveling apologies and losing work as outrage at the “almost naked” party on December 20 continues unabated.
The party was organized by influencer Anastasia Ivleeva who instructed her guests to dress to the theme of “nude illusion.”
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Her guests, paying around $11,000 a ticket, did so with gusto, wearing skin-toned mesh and lace, with Ivleeva herself wearing a $250,000 diamond body chain, The Washington Post reported.
One rapper, named Vacio, showed up in just shoes and a strategically-placed sock, The Post reported.
Anastasia Ivleeva attends the Prada Spring/Summer 2024 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 21, 2023 in Milan, Italy.
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images for Prada
Now, amid growing outrage, Ivleeva faces a class-action lawsuit filed December 26, in which plaintiffs are demanding she pay $11 million to a veterans’ charity, per the independent Russian outlet Meduza.
Vacio — whose real name is Nikolai Vasilyev — has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for violating Russia’s laws against promoting homosexuality, per The Guardian. Other attendees lost well-paid work, finding themselves dropped by brands they promote and having TV specials and concerts canceled, Meduza reported.
Initially, Ivleeva reveled in the outrage in a Telegram post, saying she loves getting criticism for her antics, according to Meduza.
But as the backlash grew, that post was replaced by a tearful apology video, Meduza reported.
Pro-censorship activist Ekaterina Mizulina said the party was “a shot in the foot to the entire policy of our state,” and called for a government-level boycott of the celebrities involved, The Washington Post reported. Mizulina, the daughter of a prominent anti-LGBTQ senator, supported a recent law dubbing the international LGBTQ movement as extremist.
One of Russia’s top TV propagandists, commentator Vladimir Solovyov, called the partygoers “beasts” and “scum,” The Washington Post reported.
Both critics called attention to the contrast between the decadence of the party and the country’s soldiers on the front line in Ukraine.
Russian officials including foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also criticized the party.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, acknowledged the backlash when asked, but stopped short of adding to it.
The reaction looks to be a touchstone moment in Russia’s ongoing swing towards extreme social conservatism. It also suggests that the economic privations and grind of military service involved in the invasion of Ukraine are much closer to mind for the Russian public than Putin had first hoped.
In an analysis, the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, attributed the fallout to a need for scapegoats in Russia’s political system.
“It needs groups or individuals it can point to and blame for problems at home and abroad,” he wrote.
“Up till now, those scapegoats have included Ukraine, the US, the UK, the EU and NATO. Now, it seems, some Russian celebrities are on the list.”
