The editor-in-chief of the Russian tabloid StarHit, Anastasia Ananyina, responded to the libel accusations that the publication faced after the publication of a text about the possible mental disorder of the son of figure skater Evgeni Plushenko and producer Yana Rudkovskaya Alexander. Ananyina's article was published on the StarHit website.
The journalist wrote that the editorial board should have "freedom of action" and continue to publish materials on "pressing social topics." “So, we consider it important to talk about the socialization of children with special needs without fear or embarrassment,” said Ananyina.
StarHit editor-in-chief noted the achievements that the child came to at the age of seven. At the same time, she stressed that the published article that the boy is allegedly sick with Asperger's syndrome is not the opinion of the editorial board. “The original source was another edition. But at StarHit, we don't see Asperger Syndrome as offensive, and the assumption of illness as an insult. And it is important for us that both our heroes and our readers stop thinking this way,”she said.
Ananyina also noted that the discussion that arose in society only proves that it is necessary to work on the perception of children with developmental disabilities. She promised that the magazine will publish articles about people who are raising just such children.
The material that Alexander Plushenko, known in social networks as the Gnome Gnomych, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, appeared in StarHit on May 3. The boy's parents called this article libel. Rudkovskaya also said that she had received an SMS from the owners of the publication with an apology, but at the same time stressed that the text had not been removed from the site. The producer said that what was written does not correspond to reality and called the portal's act a shame and dishonor.
