The Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon was in the center of the scandal after the book "City of Night Birds" (Night Birds City) of Korean Writer Yukhea Kim . The book tells the story of Russian ballerina, which overcomes difficulties after injury to return to the stage in St. Petersburg.
In December choice, the Reese of the Witherspoon described the novel as "inspired" and "deep", emphasizing that the plot about overcoming life difficulties struck it. The actress noted that history made her think about how people overcome failures and rethink important moments in life.
However, the choice of Vizerspun has caused a flurry of criticism, especially from Ukrainian users who responded to the popularization of Russian culture in the context of war in Ukraine. They reminded the actress that at a time when Ukraine is going through difficult times because of Russian aggression, the recommendation of a work concerning the Russian ballet tradition looks unlikely and inappropriate.
Despite his criticism, the actress did not make public statements about changes in her choice of book. However, this situation raised an important question of the responsibility of public persons, especially those who have an impact on large audiences, for cultural statements at such a difficult time for many countries, in particular for Ukraine.
