Former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner was interviewed at a press conference in Russian-annexed Crimea, where he was performing. At the conference, the singer praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and said he has “no love anymore for the United States.” Read select quotes from the conference below as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net.
Turner said he that he might settle down in another country ruled by an authoritarian leader — Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. He said he was considering moving to Belarus “if Lukashenka lets me in.”
“I just might apply for citizenship, because I have no — truth be told — I have no love anymore for the United States, really,” Joe said. “I don’t like the administrations, I don’t like what’s going on, I don’t like the lies to the people… I don’t like anything. It’s not the country… my father’s country. When there was opportunity, when there was truth — some truth anyway — I think…”
He continued, “You might see this. This is a pin of Putin. [points to his pin] Why? Why? I don’t wear this to placate you. The word [placate] means to impress you. I don’t. I wear it, because I believe it.
I’ve listened to every leader in the world. The only one who’s telling the truth is Putin. So I think there’s a very good question for me personally, because, as I have said already, there’s a house being built in Belarus and perhaps an apartment in Moscow. I’m thinking about it. I have some very, very important friends there who I love very much, and I think I have found a new life and a new home. And that is ‘pravda’ [Russian word for ‘truth’]; that is the truth.”
Turner is married to Maya Kozyreva, a lawyer from Minsk, the capital of Belarus. “She is my greatest asset in life. She’s my angel,” he told Guitar World in 2012.
A video from the press conference appears below.
34 Responses
I do agree with Joe on one thing. I don’t like the current administration either.
This sounds like a case of a once-successful singer in America who found great success in Eastern Europe, and as a result developed a resentment towards his native country. The fact that his wife is from Eastern Europe and all the VIP treatment he’s been getting from Putin and Lukashenka (Belarus) all seem to be clouding his judgment.
The irony here is that Lukashenka, a communist, is unbelievably corrupt. Everyone already knows about Putin. So for Turner to be saying how he’s found “truth” there only shows he has no idea what he’s talking about.
Of course, Putin and Lukashenka are giving Turner the VIP treatment so they can use him as a “see, even Americans don’t like America” tool.
I served my country for 20 years for the right for any has been (or never was), to speak their mind. While I do not agree with what he says, I defend his right to say it. I think all politicians are s–t, so he is not too far off in that regard. He isn’t taking bread off my table; his words will come back some day. Our country is (even with its flaws) the greatest country in the history of civilization.
Greg,
Thank you for your service. God bless you and our military.
Dana from ET.com 🙂
Ditto Greg not thrilled with the current govt but wouldn’t live anywhere else
Thank you for your service to this country
i wonder if joe ever has trouble putin on his wig. he could make even more headlines as Jolene turner.
you go joe. really.