Video of Vladimir Putin singing “Blueberry Hill” in front of Hollywood celebrities resurfaces

A bizarre video of Vladimir Putin singing to a room full of Hollywood stars has resurfaced – footage that seems incredibly surreal and even eerie given the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine which is currently dominating the news cycle .

In 2010, a number of A-list celebrities attended a children’s charity event in St. Petersburg, Russia, and were in the audience when Putin took the stage to sing a rendition of Fats’ “Blueberry Hill.” Domino.

Russia and Ukraine entered their 14th day of fighting on Wednesday, after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country on February 24.

Kevin Costner, Sharon Stone, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Gerard Depardieu, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel can all be seen in the crowd applauding the politician’s heavily accented take on the rock ‘n’ roll classic.

According to The Guardianthis group of actors was hired to attend the event by Samuel Aroutiounian, an entrepreneur specializing in bringing Hollywood talent to Russia.

Aroutiounian later said Time magazine that Putin’s performance was unexpected.

“It was one of those times where even I was like, ‘Wow, is this really happening?'” he told the magazine in 2014.

The clip of the surreal performance has already had millions of views on YouTube (this particular video, for Timeis no longer available) but the video has resurfaced on Twitter over the past week where many people are baffled by how the situation unfolded.

“Remember that utterly bizarre convergence of worlds, when Vladimir Putin performed Blueberry Hill at a fundraiser with his thick Russian accent and Gerard Depardieu, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn and Sharon Stone loved every one of them. minute,” one tweet read.

While another added: “Remember that? A few years ago a bunch of haunting Hollywood stars got their eyes wide open at Putin singing ‘Blueberry Hill’, all in the name of Charidee. was weird and scary then. It’s even weirder and scarier now.” .”

Sharon Stone opened up about her attendance at this charity fundraiser during a 2018 appearance on The late show.

After being interviewed by host Stephen Colbert, Stone explained: “Putin had invited all of us to come to Russia – which I have to say is a very nice place to go – so we went to fundraise for a hospital for children’s oncology ward. at Christmas time.”

Stone went on to describe his “amazing experience” visiting the hospital and said the group raised “a lot of money”.

Putin’s “Blueberry Hill” performance came at a dinner hosted by the Russian president to thank celebrities, Stone said.

She said she pulled her chair up to the stage to watch Putin’s performance.

Another actor who was present at the bizarre event was Gerard Depardieu, a longtime friend of Putin, who has since called off his support for the politician amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

At least 2 million people have so far fled Ukraine and more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in what is now Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.

The war has sparked widespread protests around the world, with hundreds of thousands of people rallying internationally to show solidarity with Ukraine, while scores of celebrities have taken to their platforms to show their support.