HBO announced Friday that it will collaborate with a Serbian actor it hired to star in the third season of its Emmy-nominated series “White Lotus. “
“We have to combine tactics with Miloš Biković and the role will be reshuffled,” an HBO spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.
Filming for the series will begin in February.
It does not explain why Biković, who was to play the social welfare guru in the series, would no longer appear, however, the actor was recently charged through the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs last January with supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Miloš Biković, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s The White Lotus Season 3,” the foreign ministry wrote on X on January 24. “@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?”
The posts from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs garnered around 5,000 likes on Instagram and X. Some commentators expressed displeasure with Biković’s casting, while others questioned why the government focused on the actor.
Biković had not made any public statements during the war and had expressed sadness over “the war and bloodshed” on Instagram when Russia launched its war in Ukraine.
However, some pro-Ukraine commentators were not pleased that the actor openly condemned Russia.
In an interview with Business Insider, Biković said he was grateful for his first casting on the show, but criticized the decision to remove him.
“A selective crusade against me has been launched today, as an external maneuver to influence decisions that could simply set an unsettling precedent that would cast a shadow over the essence of artistic freedom,” Biković said. “The result of such a narrative is the triumph of the absurd and the defeat of art. “
The Serbian actor talked about growing up in a war.
“I grew up in a war-torn country,” Biković wrote. “At the age of 11 I endured days and nights in shelters while my homeland and my hometown were bombed. And could never wish such devastation on anyone.”
Jump to