Dancing with the tsars: Celebrities who spent time with ruthless dictators

Celebrities and dictators may sound like a strange mix, but it’s more common than you think. One of them can be vain, ruthless, self-centered, and surrounded by yes men who shelter them from reality. The other, well…
Maybe celebrities and dictators are more alike than we like to think. Here are some curious examples from the past and present.

1990s Hollywood action star Steven Seagal traveled to Belarus in 2016 to meet Alexander Lukashenko, who has been dubbed as Europe’s last dictator.

The actor, who claimed he had long wanted to meet the Eastern European strongman, was gifted carrots and other vegetables from Lukashenko’s own residence outside of Minsk.

Seagal and Lukashenko also have a friend in common: Russian President Vladimir Putin. The star of ‘Under Siege’ was granted Russian citizenship in 2018 and was appointed as Russia’s special envoy to the United States.

Another celebrity turned unlikely diplomat is Dennis Rodman. Since 2013, the former NBA player has developed a friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is considered as an unofficial peace ambassador to North Korea.

Rodman claims not to be a diplomat, but he apparently managed to get a Korean-American missionary under North Korean captivity released. Some have even speculated that the former NBA player might be an undercover CIA agent.

Sometimes celebrities become supporters of ruthless leaders unwittingly, while they act as if it’s just another gig. Jennifer Lopez was criticized in 2013 for singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, seen here riding a horse during a military parade.

The pop star is the first Western celebrity to visit the country, which Human Rights Watch has called "one of the world’s most repressive regimes."

Teen Vogue reported that in July 2018 a group of American singers and rappers could be seen performing at a luxurious club in Equatorial Guinea. Rapper Ludacris even recorded a video saying that he “greatly appreciate the invite”.

Ludacris, along with Akon, Jeezy and Sean Kingston, were performing at the birthday party of Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of Teodoro Obiang (pictured), ruler of Equatorial Guinea since 1979.

This also happened to Nicki Minaj when she went to Angola in 2015. She claims she didn't know that the entertainment company that organized her concert was partially owned by the family of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Pictured: Nicki Minaj posing with the Angolan flag on her Instagram account.

Dos Santos ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, becoming the second longest-serving African president, until he was succeeded by his former Minister of Defense.

Mariah Carey also got flak for performing in Angola in 2013. In addition, she got into trouble before for singing at a party hosted by the family of Muammar Gaddafi, the late Libyan strongman who was toppled in 2011.

Other artists that performed for the Gaddafi family include Nelly Furtado and 50 Cent. They ended up donating their concert salaries due to the backlash.

If there's one celebrity who'd probably not surprise us by hanging out with dictators, it is Ye, previously known as Kanye West. The rapper extraordinaire and former partner of Kim Kardashian did a gig for dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev.

West was paid 3 million US dollars to perform at the wedding of Nursultan Nazarbayev's grandson. The President of Kazakhstan ruled the country from 1991 to 2019.

While many celebrities in this list simply went for the money, others socialize with dictators out of conviction. Musician Roger Waters, for instance, has been very vocal about his support to Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro even sent Waters an autographed cuatro (a traditional Venezuelan string instrument), which the Pink Floyd band member received with enthusiasm.

Some people might regard Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chávez, as a dictator. Others might not. What is true is that he certainly was a colorful political figure. Chávez had a good rapport with the masses and celebrities alike.

Pictured: Chávez with Sean Penn in 2010.

Socialist leader Chávez went with Oliver Stone to the Venice International Film Festival in 2009. Stone had interviewed Chávez for a documentary. Some years later, the American director would also do interviews with Vladimir Putin.

At the same time, some journalists suspected that supermodel Naomi Campbell might have had a thing for the Venezuelan autocrat. She had interviewed him for GQ in 2008, and media like ABC and El País speculated that there was more going on between them.

While this relationship was never confirmed, it is certainly true what they say about the lure of strength: Nothing is more intoxicating than power.