Russian TV host Solovyov apologizes to blogger Bonya for insults after her address to Putin
TV host Vladimir Solovyov apologized on air to blogger Victoria Bonya after she publicly addressed him, telling her he had been too careless with his words.
“First of all, you look wonderful. Second: yes, of course, I should apologize. You are absolutely right. Of course I was too emotional, and of course, whatever the motivation behind what I said and why I said it — of course I should have been far more careful with my words, which were spoken on live air,” Solovyov said during a live broadcast with Bonya on his program Polny Kontakt “Full Contact.”
Solovyov pushed back at being cast as “the country’s chief misogynist,” calling the characterization “rather strange” given the number of women who appear on his broadcasts and his assertion that “70 percent of misogynists are women.” Bonya had suffered “far more” from the hatred of people who pretend to be her friends than from his own words, he added, without naming anyone.
What had set him off, Solovyov said, was not her address itself but the fact that it had been “noticed at such a level.” The specific words that sent him into a “rage” were her suggestion that people fear Vladimir Putin — because Western media had picked them up, whereas in reality Russians love their president rather than fear him.
“I’m glad you apologized,” Bonya said.
On April 14, Victoria Bonya published an address “on behalf of the people” to Putin, listing five problems that “no governor would speak about” and saying that people fear Putin — but that she does not. The Kremlin said work was underway on the issues Bonya had raised. She then tearfully thanked Putin and Peskov for watching her address at the Kremlin.
As Bonya’s address spread widely, Vladimir Solovyov used his evening show to call her a “worn-out slut” who had no business “opening her filthy mouth and polluting the airwaves.” Deputy Vitaly Milonov joined the attacks, calling Bonya an “ill-educated blogger” and an “escort girl.” Social media users widely criticized Solovyov for the remarks, and Bonya posted an AI-generated video in which she appears as Spider-Man fighting Solovyov, Milonov, and Artemy Lebedev, who had also made remarks about her.
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