NO REDEMPTION

How Morgan Freeman became public enemy number one in Russia

The Shawshank Redemption star appeared in a two-minute video on behalf of Rob Reiner’s organisation, the Committee to Investigate Russia

By Michael Kaplan For The New York Post and Sam Webb

28th September 2017, 12:49 pm

Updated: 28th September 2017, 2:59 pm

HOLLYWOOD actor Morgan Freeman has been blasted by the Kremlin after recording a video urging US President Donald Trump to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the US election.

The Shawshank Redemption star appeared in a two-minute video on behalf of Rob Reiner’s organisation, the Committee to Investigate Russia.

CIR

Oscar winner Morgan Freeman is urging the White House to investigate accusations that Russia targeted the US election

AP:Associated Press

Putin has angrily denied accusations the Kremlin tried to rig the US election

In the video, Freeman references Russia’s alleged attempts to hack the US election, and implores Donald Trump to seriously investigate Russia’s influence on his victory and to confront Putin directly.

The video shows the Oscar winner accusing the former KGB spy of launching cyber attacks and spreading false information to weaken the US.

So the furious Russian media and officials launched a full-blown attack on the much-loved actor’s character and sanity.

The reports Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov called Freeman a “fool”.

He added: “Many creative people easily fall victim to emotional strain, and don’t have real information about the actual state of affairs.”

Then, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took it to the realms of conspiracy, by stating that Freeman was “duped”.

Getty - Contributor

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Hollywood star was ‘duped’

AP:Associated Press

Morgan Freeman wants Trump to investigate the accusations of Russian collusion with his staff

Even a Russian weatherman weighed in, claiming the the cannabis campaigner Freeman is suffering from “overwork and marijuana use”.

A critic at Russia’s state-run television station TV Centre gave the video a serious viewing and deemed it Freeman’s “worst role”.

Russian director Stanislav Govorukhin reportedly said: “Not all actors are idiots, but you will find some who are. It happens.”

There’s even a Freeman-hating hashtag: #StopMorganLie.

Rolf Fredheim, a NATO analyst believes that the blanketing response “could be an example of some kind of Russian troll-farm output.”

It doesn’t look like Russia is going to let this go easily, either. In a post on Facebook, Zakharova says she anticipates a “spectacular finale” once her country’s authorities get to the bottom of Freeman’s two-minute video.

“I can’t wait,” she added.

Freeman has yet to comment on the negative comments.

Earlier this month Facebook agreed to hand over adverts bought by Russians to sway the 2016 campaign.

Mark Zuckerberg also pledged to beef up security, cooperate with federal investigators and enhance transparency on the site,

A version of this story originally appeared on the .