Participants in Anastasia Ivleeva’s party are deprived of airtime and advertising contracts

MTS, VK, TNT, NTV, as well as other media and advertising companies have frozen contracts with blogger Anastasia Ivleeva, as well as artists Dmitry Bilan, Lolita, Philip Kirkorov, Anna Asti. The reason was the indignation of a number of public figures after Ms. Ivleeva’s party on December 21 with the “almost naked” dress code. Market participants believe that in the future, artists and bloggers who participated in the party, in addition to financial losses due to the suspension of contracts, may expect lawsuits from companies that suffered reputational damage. Organizers of New Year’s corporate events are quickly looking for replacements for the stars involved in the scandal, market participants say.

A number of TV channels, advertising agencies and companies from different business segments have suspended cooperation with blogger Anastasia Ivleeva. The stop list also included Philip Kirkorov, Dmitry Bilan, Lolita Milyavskaya, Glyukoza (Natalia Chistyakova-Ionova), Anna Asti, a number of specialized Telegram channels reported this on December 26. Kommersant’s sources in the media market confirmed that advertising contracts with a number of stars are now suspended.

Organized by Anastasia Ivleeva, a party with an almost naked dress code took place on the night of December 21 at the Moscow club Mutabor. The event was attended, in particular, by Philip Kirkorov, Ksenia Sobchak, Lolita, Dzhigan and rapper Vacio (Nikolai Vasiliev). The next day Lefortovo District Court arrested Vacio for 15 days and fined 200 thousand rubles. He was found guilty of petty hooliganism and LGBT propaganda. Later, Mrs. Ivleeva, as well as other party participants, apologized for the inconvenience caused by the appearance of the guests of the event. TV presenter also promised donate proceeds from the sale of tickets to the party to charitable organizations.

Despite this, on December 26, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow registered a class action lawsuit against Anastasia Ivleeva for 1 billion rubles. in compensation for moral damage after the party, RIA Novosti reported. Against this background, State Duma deputy from the “Fair Russia – Patriots – For Truth” faction Dmitry Gusev called for Anastasia Ivleeva and the participants in her event to be removed from television.

The business response followed on the same day.

The premiere of the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Everything” from the TNT channel, in which Philip Kirkorov and Anna Asti took part, was also cancelled. A number of industry Telegram channels also reported that NTV management plans to “cut” scenes from the New Year’s edition of “Mask” with the participation of Philip Kirkorov (a member of the jury.— “Kommersant”). Lolita Milyavskaya told on December 26 Msk1.ruthat concerts planned in honor of her 60th birthday are being canceled en masse. The VK company also wants to refuse footage with the participation of singer Dmitry Bilan in its holiday show “VK under a fur coat,” Kommersant sources close to the holding claim. The company also actively collaborated with Anna Asti and Philip Kirkorov. VK declined to comment. TNT and NTV did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

Kommersant’s interlocutor at the advertising market confirmed that most companies in the segment are also discussing the suspension of contracts with the stars participating in the event. Thus, the MTS company has already removed the photo of Ms. Ivleeva, who was a brand ambassador, from the official website, Kommersant was convinced. Until December 22, a meeting with a blogger was offered as prizes in an advertisement dedicated to the company’s thirtieth anniversary. Now in the section you can only find actor Dmitry Nagiyev. MTS did not answer Kommersant.

The main question now is how TV channels, which are forced to “reshape” New Year’s shows, will pay their partners, says Kommersant’s interlocutor close to one of the film production studios:

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if after a while we see lawsuits from injured participants against blacklisted stars, although an internal agreement is also possible.”

The situation that is happening now is reminiscent of last year, when many pop stars and TV presenters, after speaking out against military actions in Ukraine, disappeared from the channel’s broadcast network, says a Kommersant source in the television market: “Ivan Urgant has still not returned to the air of “First” channel.” Perhaps the same will happen to the participants in this story. One thing is for sure: we won’t see Anastasia Ivleeva on the air of “Friday” any time soon.”

Another consequence is the exclusion of party participants from the program of planned New Year’s corporate events, says Kommersant’s interlocutor in the music industry: “Right now, the organizers are hastily looking for replacements for stars who unexpectedly fell out of favor. This threatens with colossal penalties.” Few large companies or wealthy people would risk their reputation in the current situation, he notes. “Most likely, many are now hastily looking for replacements, but the problem is that all the stars have long been booked for the holidays, so second-tier cover bands will be used,” the source believes. Another Kommersant source in the concert industry notes that the current situation will only strengthen the “general artistic insufficiency”: “In a situation where we have no foreign performers, many Russians have left the country or are in the informal status of undesirables, the scandal with the guests of Anastasia Ivleeva’s party only will worsen the overall market situation.”

Yulia Yurasova