Wentworth Miller The hunky star of hit TV show Prison Break has outed himself in a letter declining an invitation to appear at the St Petersburg International Film Festival. Wentworth Miller, 41, has come out as gay in a letter criticising Russia's stance towards homosexuals, it has been reported.Russia has passed laws making it a criminal offense to show pro-gay 'propaganda" - which can be as subtle as a rainbow flag pin worn in public - where it might be seen by anyone under the age of eighteen. Already gay Russians have been arrested for the offense and levels of anti-gay violence are soaring. "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," he says in the letter. "However, as a gay man, I must decline," Miller wrote, according to the TMZ celebrity-watch website . "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." "If circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice," Miller says. Meanwhile, gay British actor Rupert Everett has joined the slowly growing call for a boycott against the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia due to the increasing persecution of gays and fear for athletes and spectators' safety. The official Russian news outlet has described the boycott call as "far-fetched gay hysteria against Russia."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 23rd August 2013 - 2:24pm