Miloš Biković has exited The White Lotus’ third season, days after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called out the Serbian actor’s Russian ties.
On Friday, a spokesperson told The New York Times that HBO had parted ways with Biković, who was set to recur in Season 3 as Valentin, a flirtatious yogi and a “Life Enhancement Mentor.”
“I was honored to be chosen to be a part of White Lotus, a TV series that I hold in high regard and with colleagues whom I deeply respect,” Biković said in a statement about his departure, per Deadline. “However, my participation is not possible due to reasons beyond the realm of art, and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity.”
On January 24, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized HBO for casting Biković. “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 ministry wrote on X. “@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?”
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@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?
📹 @United24media pic.twitter.com/ceWkXVttfp
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) January 24, 2024
Deadline notes that Biković hasn’t publicly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also hasn’t condemned it, and a video from the organization UNITED24 Media — which Ukraine’s foreign ministry shared in its X post — suggests he supports Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
In his statement, Biković said that he grew up in a war-torn country and that his hometown was bombed when he was 11, adding that he “could never wish such devastation on anyone” and wishes that all the active conflicts in the world would stop.
“Today, a targeted campaign has been unleashed against me, seemingly as an external maneuver to influence decisions that can create a disturbing precedent shadowing the essence of artistic freedom,” he wrote. “The result of such a narrative is the triumph of absurdity and the defeat of art.”
Now Biković’s part in The White Lotus will be recast, according to the HBO spokesperson, with Season 3 scheduled to start filming in Thailand this month.
The White Lotus, Season 3 Premiere, TBA, HBO
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
