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16 Jun, 2020 11:23

Ayn Rand of Instagram? Russian model Bonya says minimum wage workers 'alcoholics & beggars,' urges state help for businessmen

Ayn Rand of Instagram? Russian model Bonya says minimum wage workers 'alcoholics & beggars,' urges state help for businessmen

No stranger to controversy, Russian celebrity Viktoria Bonya has again caused a stir, labelling people on minimum wages “alcoholics and beggars.” She’s opposed to constitutional changes guaranteeing incomes for the lowest-paid.

The wealthy star believes business owners are more deserving of state aid than the poor. President Vladimir Putin has made proposals that will be put to the people in a vote on July 1 and would enshrine a minimum wage in the constitution.

“We first raise the minimum wage, hand out money to all sorts of alcoholics and beggars, and then we cry about why we all suck,” she said. “It would be better if they helped businessmen who work.”

In the opinion of Bonya, the state should not decide what the minimum wage is, and she goes on to explain that “[the government] gives out money to any idlers, alcoholics, drug addicts just because they live in Russia.”

“I communicate with a huge number of top businessmen, and even from the Forbes list. And you know, they all have the same opinion: why should all the rogue Russian people sit on our necks?” she said.

In recent months, the model and former reality TV star raised a few eyebrows with comments on a variety of topics. In March, Bonya came in for criticism after claiming that the potential for Covid-19 to wipe out half of the planet was “not so scary.” In April, she took to Instagram in support of a 5G-related Covid-19 conspiracy theory, claiming that 5G is making people sick, “in order to then vaccinate everyone and install chips in everyone.”

Also on rt.com Not so scary! Russian model says if Covid-19 wipes out half of humanity, the planet will benefit

Originally famous for her stint on the massively popular reality show ‘Dom-2,’ Bonya successfully translated her success into mainstream culture and is often seen on TV and in tabloid media. She has a daughter, now aged eight, with Alexander Smurfit, the son of Irish tycoon Michael Smurfit.

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