Fred Durst, the singer in the nu-metal band Limp Bizkit, has been banned from entering Ukraine for five years by the country’s security service, according to reports.
The Ukrainian publication Astropof reported that the ban had been imposed in November, “in the interests of guaranteeing the security of our state”, according to Billboard. The Interfax news agency has apparently said the security service has confirmed the ban.
Durst has become entangled in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia in recent months. In September he told the Russian state-run news agency Sputnik International: “I wouldn’t mind getting a Russian passport. If you have communication with the relevant authorities, which could assist with obtaining it, share.”
His Russian wife, Kseniya Beryazina, is originally from Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Earlier this year the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Durst wanted to spend half the year in Crimea working on film and TV projects. The Russian-backed prime minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, has pledged to turn Crimea into “the new Beverly Hills”, and the mayors of the resorts Yevpatoria, Feodosiya and Yalta have spoken about building compounds for western celebrities, who would be given free housing in return for boosting the region.