Action star turned Putin puppy Steven Seagal appears to have packed on a few pounds since his bromance with the despotic Russian president pulled him from Hollywood, according to images from a new documentary.
Seagal, 72, had a distinctly ballooned belly in a newly released Russian propaganda film — “In The Name of Justice” — which featured the former star visiting war-torn Ukraine and espousing how the Ukies brought the conflict on themselves, according to the Daily Mail.
The images are some of the latest of Seagal, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2016 and has been off-loading his vast portfolio of American real estate ever since.
Seagal — who has referred to Vladimir Putin as both a “brother” and one of “the greatest living world leaders” — has been scarce on social media in recent years, but when he’s appeared, he has almost always worn smock-like mandarin coats that hide his frame.
The appearance in the Russian documentary provided an unvarnished image of Seagal, who was bursting out of his shirt and trousers as he visited captured Ukrainian troops — who the documentary claimed committed “crimes against civilians,” the Daily Mail reported.
Someone who once worked with Seagal told the outlet he’d gained “at least 50 pounds,” and would have gone “apes**t” over his appearance in the doc.
“Seagal, as a rule, controlled the narrative hard when filming as he insisted on certain camera angles and nothing that accentuates his weight gain,” the source said.
The actor, who had starring roles across the 80s and 90s in action flicks like “Above the Law,” “Under Siege,” and “On Deadly Ground,” was raised in America, but his grandparents were Russian immigrants.
Since obtaining Russian citizenship, he’s referred to himself as “one million percent Russian,” and was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin himself for a “major contribution to the development of international culture and humanitarian cooperation.”
Seagal has previously participated in blatant Russian propaganda films about the war in Ukraine, even referring to Ukrainians as “Nazis” in a 2020 clip.
The “Hard to Kill” star was named a special envoy to the US by Russia in 2018.
He was also deemed a national security threat in Ukraine in 2017 and banned from entering the country.
