Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller has come out as a gay men in a letter declining an invitation to visit Russia.
E! News reports that Miller declined an invitation to attend the St. Petersburg International Film Festival in a letter to Maria Averbakh. In the letter, which was posted on GLAAD’s official website, he writes, “Thank you for your kind invitation. 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, as a gay man, I must decline,” he writes.
"I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government," Miller writes.. "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.”
Miller’s coming out comes after openly gay Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen declined an invitation to host the Miss Universe due to Russia’s extreme anti-gay laws.
The law includes the banning of propaganda which promotes homosexuality in a way which could be an influence on minors. The laws are reportedly becoming more extreme, even prompting many to seek a ban on the 2014 Olympics being held in Russia.
Miller notes that “if circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice."
Image: WikiCommons
