Wentworth Miller: “I’m gay”
Protests Russia’s homophobic laws
Wentworth Miller is gay, and he’s making sure Russia knows it.
The “Prison Break” actor went public about his sexuality in a political way Wednesday, sending a letter to the director of the St. Petersburg International Film Festival in which he politely de - clined an invitation to attend as a guest of honor and explained exactly why he was RSVPing “no.” First the polite part: “Thank you for your kind invitation,” he wrote in the letter, which is posted on the GLAAD website. “As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes. “However,” he said, “as a gay man, I must decline.”
The reason? A handful of anti-LGBT laws recently signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that among other things reportedly ban adoption by gay couples or people who live in countries that have any kind of samesex marriage equality, outlaw discussion of homosexuality or gay rights where children might hear it, and allow for the arrest and detention of gay or “pro-gay” foreign visitors for up to two weeks before ejection from the country.
Miller, who starred in the Fox drama “Prison Break” through its run from 2005 to 2009, explained his decision this way:
“I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.
“Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice,” the 41-year-old concluded.
Others celebs who have protested the nation’s anti-gay laws include Bravo’s Andy Cohen, who has previously hosted the “Miss Universe” pageant, to be held this year in Moscow.
Cohen is boycotting the pageant this year, he told E! News last week, because Russia’s “discriminatory policies make it unsafe for the gays who live there and gays coming to work or visit.” He said he “didn’t feel right as a gay man stepping foot into Russia.”