BREAKING FREE

Wentworth Miller Comes Out As Gay, Declines Invitation To Visit Russia

wenworth-miller-wentworth-miller-19376046-1200-1598Actor-screenwriter Wentworth Miller, best-known as the star of the Fox TV drama Prison Break, has come out publicly as a gay man and declined an invitation to visit Russia saying he’s “deeply troubled” by Russia’s brutality toward the LGBT community.

Miller, who wrote the recent Nicole Kidman thriller Stoker, received an invitation to attend the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, but felt that as a gay man he is not comfortable traveling to Russia.

Read Miller’s full letter below:

Dear Ms. Averbakh:

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.

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.

Until then.

Wentworth Miller

GLAAD’s national spokesperson Wilson Cruz issued the following statement commending Miller:

“Wentworth’s bold show of support sends a powerful message to LGBT Russians, who are facing extreme violence and persecution: you are not alone. As people from across the globe continue to speak out against Russia’s horrific law, more celebrities and corporations should follow his courageous lead in openly condemning Russia’s anti-LGBT law.”

[h/t: GLAAD]

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