Lindsay Lohan talked about her respect for Vladimir Putin on one of Russia’s most popular television shows, Pust govoryat (Let Them Talk), also denying allegations that she ever demanded a meeting with the Russian president to snap a selfie with him.
Speaking on the show, Lohan said she “respects” Putin and “admires” his persistence. It aired in primetime on Russia’s top network, Channel One, on Wednesday evening.
According to Lohan, she wanted to meet with him to discuss charitable activities, as she plans to set up a charity to fight human trafficking and to broaden people’s awareness of it. But a selfie was not the goal as had been reported in Russian media, she said.
Last month, the network complained that Lohan had high demands for her appearance on the show. In addition to an audience with Putin, she allegedly asked for a fee of $860,000 (£650,000).
A spokesperson for Channel One declined to comment on Lohan’s compensation.
The hourlong talk show, which has been compared to The Jerry Springer Show, airs at 8 p.m. Moscow time. Last year, it averaged a rating of 9.3 percent, meaning 9-million-plus people watched it, with an audience share of 24.9 percent.
The “special edition” of the program was entirely devoted to the interview with Lohan (whose comments were dubbed into Russian via a voiceover) conducted by the show’s host Andrei Malakhov.
The discussion mostly focused on the actress’ romance with and breakup from Egor Tarabasov, a 23-year-old London-based son of a Russian oligarch. Among other things, she talked about his alleged abusive behavior.
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