Post by RJ (FORUM OWNER) on Aug 25, 2013 14:37:09 GMT
Wentworth Miller Comes Out In Letter To Russia
The actor says he cannot attend a film festival because as a homosexual he is uncomfortable with new anti-gay laws.
Wentworth Miller
Miller is now a successful screenwriter
US actor Wentworth Miller, best known for his role in Prison Break, has come out as gay in a letter declining an invitation to attend a Russian film festival because of Moscow's new anti-gay laws.
Miller, 41, turned down the offer to attend the St Petersburg International Film Festival as a "guest of honour" after posting the letter on the website for GLAAD - a group which monitors media representation of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people and issues.
"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," Miller wrote to festival director Maria Averbakh.
Miller added he was "deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government," and did not want attend an event in a country where "people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly".
Russia's parliament banned the spread of gay "propaganda" among minors in a law passed in June which has been condemned worldwide.
It also includes fines for people who stage gay pride rallies.
Miller, who played incarcerated structural engineer Michael Scofield in Prison Break from 2005 to 2009, has recently turned his hand to screenwriting, penning the script for this year's dark thriller Stoker, starring Nicole Kidman.
The actor says he cannot attend a film festival because as a homosexual he is uncomfortable with new anti-gay laws.
Wentworth Miller
Miller is now a successful screenwriter
US actor Wentworth Miller, best known for his role in Prison Break, has come out as gay in a letter declining an invitation to attend a Russian film festival because of Moscow's new anti-gay laws.
Miller, 41, turned down the offer to attend the St Petersburg International Film Festival as a "guest of honour" after posting the letter on the website for GLAAD - a group which monitors media representation of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people and issues.
"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," Miller wrote to festival director Maria Averbakh.
Miller added he was "deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government," and did not want attend an event in a country where "people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly".
Russia's parliament banned the spread of gay "propaganda" among minors in a law passed in June which has been condemned worldwide.
It also includes fines for people who stage gay pride rallies.
Miller, who played incarcerated structural engineer Michael Scofield in Prison Break from 2005 to 2009, has recently turned his hand to screenwriting, penning the script for this year's dark thriller Stoker, starring Nicole Kidman.
