At the backdrop of the USAID freeze and the statement of some officials from the American President Donald Trump’s administration, the video seemingly from the E!News video was shared online. In the video, it’s said that the USAID paid for the trips of Hollywood stars to Ukraine, in particular to increase the popularity of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among Americans.
What happened?
On Feb 5, social media accounts actively shared the video that supposedly originated at the entertaining portal E!News. In it, they said that Hollywood stars were paid by USAID to visit Ukraine.
“Did you know that USAID paid with your taxes for stars’ trips to Ukraine to increase the popularity of Zelenskyy among Americans?” the X post says.
This post (archive) from @ImMeme0 (I Meme Therefore I Am) got popular partially because it was shared by Elon Musk (HIS POSITION) and Donald Trump Jr.
“USAID can be the biggest fraud ever committed against American people under the guise of good,” Trump Jr. wrote on X, quote-retweeting the original post.
The video says — as well as users spreading it (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) — that Hollywood stars received millions from USAID for visiting Ukraine. The video says that Angelina Jolie supposedly received $20 million for coming to Ukraine, Sean Penn got $5 million, Jean-Claude Van Damme received $1.5 million, Orlando Bloom received $8 million, and Ben Stiller got $4 million.
The news also was massively spread in Russian-speaking segment of X (1, 2, 3) and pro-Russian Telegram channels with over 100,000 subscribers and the reach of several hundred views like “Абу” (“Abu,” archive), “Не Zли русского медvедя” (“Don’t make Russian bear evil”) and in pro-Kremlin outlets that target English-speaking audiences (1, 2, 3).
“USAID paid Hollywood stars for them to come to Ukraine, professionally making compassionate faces, praised Zelenskyy and condemned terrible Russia… After the order about stopping USAID’s activity, Ukraine got rid of not only grants for their “independent” media but also from the promotion from the Western actors who were gladly selling their sad faces in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities,” pro-Russian Telegram channels wrote.
Analysis
First, we’ve checked the resources of the entertainment portal E!News that publishes news about pop culture and pop stars.
E!News has an official website, accounts on Х, Facebook, Instagram, and a YouTube channel. Searches via queries “Ukraine”, “Zelensky”, and “USAID” didn’t produce results.
Next, we’ve checked the claims of E!News’ representatives. A press-secretary of E!News told an AFP journalist that the video “is not real and doesn’t belong to E!News.” The video and story within it are “not authentic and do not originate on E! News,” he said on Feb 5.
Next, we’ve checked officials’ claims about the information that was shared. In Ukraine, the news about USAID supposedly financing visits of Hollywood stars to the country was debunked by Andrii Yermak, the head of Office of the President. He also called it “nonsense.”
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation in the Security and Defense Council, Andrii Kovalenko, also said that the video is another fake produced by Russian propaganda.
Ben Stiller
Actor Ben Stiller wrote about Russian propaganda telling falsehoods about his “humanitarian visit” to Ukraine, “These are lies coming from Russian media. I completely self-funded my humanitarian trip to Ukraine. There was no funding from USAID and certainly no payment of any kind.”
He arrived in Ukraine in June 2022 as a goodwill ambassador from the UN. He and the UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing visited deoccupied settlements of Kyiv Oblast, in particular he visited destroyed residential neighborhoods of Irpin city where he talked to people who lived through Russian occupation.
Following up on a request from the media, on Feb 6, 2025, the UN Refugee agency released a confirmation that Ben Stiller “doesn’t receive compensation for his work with UNHCR and funds his trips on his own.” They noted Stiller has supported the agency since 2016.
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom, who supposedly received twice more than Stiller from USAID, regularly publicly supports Ukraine. He visited the country twice as the UNICEF ambassador, in March 2023 and June 2024.
Orlando Bloom supports UNICEF projects that give humanitarian aid to Ukrainian children and support repair of infrastructure objects aimed at defending Ukrainian children’s interests.
Bloom reacted to the claim that he was paid on his Instagram page on Feb 7, publishing a screenshot from Forbes articles.
“Misinformation can be easily spread. All of my work with UNICEF has been done in a voluntary capacity. I’ve never received compensation from USAID or UNICEF. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue. Have a great day.”
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie publicly supported Ukraine in April-May 2022 as a special representative of the UN Refugee Agency, and made a trip to Lviv then. Jolie’s press office reported on the goal of her visit: to understand the needs of children who suffered from the war:
“Angelina Jolie visits Ukraine to meet the children who suffered from the conflict and local organizations that work on their protection. Her visit is a private humanitarian mission oriented to the kids’ needs.”
During her visit, Jolie met an evacuation train from Pokrovsk in Lviv and talked to volunteers who were providing medical and psychological aid to internally displaced people. She also visited children injured after a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk, visited the orphanage school, and talked to children there, reported local Lviv officials.
Neither the actor nor her press office made a statement about the video shared on social media and pro-Russian channels. But it’s fair to assume that, like Ben Stiller and Orlando Bloom, she didn’t receive any salary for charity visits under the UN’s guiding principles.
UN guidelines say that “Messengers of Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors shall not be paid a salary, although a symbolic payment of $1 per year or equivalent may be granted to them. They may be given travel and daily subsistence allowances when traveling on behalf of the United Nations. ”
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Actor Van Damme didn’t promote his visit to Ukraine and didn’t communicate about his goals, and people found out he was in Ukraine from social media. Serhii Sternenko, Ukrainian activist, released a video with the actor and Ukrainian troops, on which they are saying “Glory to Ukraine.”
Mykhailo Yershov, a doctor from the local Uzhhorod hospital, published a shared photogram of Van Damme, and the recreational complex on Zakarpattia wrote on Facebook about Van Damme visiting their facility “in preparation for shooting.”
Sean Penn
Sean Penn organized the Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE). This organization supported Ukrainian refugees and people on deoccupied territories and in combat zones, and supported Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression since Feb 24, 2022.
Penn visited the countries thrice in 2022 because he was working on his documentary about war in the east of Ukraine called “Superpower.” The shooting started in November 2021, and Penn presented the documentary at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023.
In November 2022, Penn brought his Oscar to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, as a symbol of his belief in Ukrainian victory, which was to remain in Ukraine until the end of the full-scale invasion.
Penn’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart commented on the fake video to AFP, “USAID funding was never used to pay for Sean Penn’s travel to Ukraine; Mr. Penn self-funded his travel.”
As such, the video from entertainment portal E!News with the information about Hollywood stars receiving payment from USAID for visits to Ukraine is fake.
Conclusion: Fake
Author: Olha Yakovleva
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