Putin Calls CNBC Reporter ‘Pretty’ and ‘Beautiful’ to Dismiss Her Questions on Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin disparaged a female reporter during a forum this week, suggesting she was too attractive to understand the comments he was making about Russia’s energy dealings with Europe.

Putin appeared at an energy forum in Moscow on Wednesday, and he spoke to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble as she moderated a panel with him and other business leaders. As they ran through several geopolitical issues, Gamble moved to press Putin on reports that Russia withheld gas supplies to Europe in order to drive prices up and induce an energy crisis in the gas market.

Putin denied the accusations, calling them “politically motivated blather” and saying Europe “should not deal in blame-shifting” on the matter. He also insisted that Russia has kept up with providing gas supplies to Europe.

Gamble asked Putin how he could convince Europe to trust him in spite of the reports against Russia. He responded by invoking her looks and insinuating she couldn’t comprehend what he was telling her.

“A beautiful woman, pretty,” Putin said. “I tell her one thing, and she tells me the opposite as if she didn’t hear what I said.”

Gamble handled the casual misogyny from a world leader like a pro, telling Putin she could hear him and following up.

He carried on with insisting that Russia is not trying to weaponize the energy trade or seek leverage for developing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The Daily Mail reports that Russian media outlets described Putin’s comments as using Gamble’s looks to push back on her, “but added that calling her ‘beautiful’ was a ‘compliment’.”

Watch above, via CNBC.

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