CNN anchor Chris Wallace drew fire from film legend Oliver Stone when he pressed Stone about not going harder at Russian President Vladimir Putin when he shot interviews for a 2017 four-part Showtime documentary series.
Wallace’s Max series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace returns this week with Stone as the guest and a new arrangement for the host — the interview show will be available exclusively on Max, while CNN will also debut The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday mornings later this fall.
In a preview clip, Wallace hit bone when he pushed Stone over criticism of his Putin interviews:
WALLACE: I think it’s fair to say that you are most controversial these days for a series of interviews that you did with Vladimir Putin over a couple of years in the mid 2010s…in which you’ve been criticized for being too friendly, and even fawning….Why didn’t you challenge Putin more in those interviews?STONE: I’m sorry, Chris, that is absolute bullshit! Look at the fourth hour for example, this is in the fourth hour and constantly, I’m pushing him in this in this interview…WALLACE: But when he makes a contention, do you challenge him?STONE: Sometimes you have to play the game of getting an interview. You understand? If you look at the…(I understand)WALLACE: When you sit down with a dictator, why would you want to tiptoe around the
fact that he’s been accused of killing his political opponents?STONE: Has been accused. Okay, I’ve, I have never seen hard evidence of that.WALLACE: Are you really sitting here, Oliver, saying that you think that Putin has been unjustly accused of attacking or killing his political opponents?STONE: Again, I have to ask you, what’s the motive to do this? If somebody…WALLACE: Because he is a dictator, and he doesn’t like people who are a threat.STONE: That’s a little simplistic.WALLACE: You said this summer that Putin, this is your quote, is not a monster that he has been portrayed by American propaganda. Really?STONE: You know, you’re going about this all wrong. You’re not even looking, giving the guy a break. (I’m not giving who a break?) Talking about Putin, you’re blaming him for? What is he doing to the Russian people think about it.Chris WallaceOliver, the question I would ask is why are you giving, Vladimir Putin such a break? (I’m trying see it from both sides.) Why are you siding with Vladimir Putin… (I’m not siding with anybody)
Watch above via Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace.