Nancy Pelosi panders to Ukraine’s Zelensky with well-wishes from US celebs

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boasted about President Zelensky's celebrity endorsements.

"In fact," Pelosi began, "when I spoke to President Zelensky I said 'Billie Jean King sends you her regards and wants to know how she can help in any event.'"

Joining the former women's tennis star in offering words of assistance to the Ukrainian government is actor Sean Penn.

After speaking with President Zelensky's Chief of Staff, Penn took to Twitter to voice his concern that a deal that would have seen Poland send fighter jets to Ukraine had been stalled "somewhere in the bureaucratic chain."

Ukraine has requested that MiG-29 fighter jets be sent to their nation, ones that their pilots know how to operate. Poland, a NATO nation, has these jets, and despite originally saying that such a transaction hasn’t taken place, they later announced that they would send these jets to Germany.

"The authorities of the Republic of Poland, after consultations between the President and the Government, are ready to deploy — immediately and free of charge — all their MiG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America," Poland's statement read.

The US declined that proposal, with the Pentagon saying that jets flying out of a NATO nation and into contested areas could be seen as an escalation.

"The prospect of fighter jets 'at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America' departing from a US/NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

"It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it." Noting "the difficult logistical challenges it presents," he added, "we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one."

Penn suggested that "public outcry" could help persuade NATO to deliver the jets, failing to note that the Pentagon had deemed the deal too risky.

Many have criticized celebrities for what can be seen as "empty gestures."

On Friday, Russell Brand tore into those who virtue signal to show people around them that they care about whatever current issue happens to be trending.

"Oh no, there's a war in Ukraine! Quick, do some empty gestures!" Brand said mockingly.

Some celebrities have managed to actually make a difference on the ground in Ukraine though. Elon Musk, for example, was lauded by President Zelensky for not only offering words, but "deeds" as well. In an effort to help Ukrainians, Musk sent over batches of Starlink systems, providing connectivity to those who need it most.