Prison Break Star Comes Out As Gay In Protest of Russia

Wentworth Miller used words such as ‘live and love openly’ in a letter which stated that he is a gay man, whilst declining a visit to Russia because of the anti-gay laws in the country.

The 41 year-old Prison Break actor and screenwriter came out as a gay man in a letter to the Russian director of the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, in which he declined an invitation as a guest of honour. The actor also commented that with a degree of Russian ancestry that it would make him happy to say yes, but he must decline because of the troubling attitude adopted by the Russian government.

The letter was published on the GLAAD website, which is a site that monitors the representation of LGBT people and issues within the media, and has openly supported Miller’s actions.

Laws in Russia have recently been signed by the president Vladimir Putin prohibiting the adoption of Rusian-born children for gay couples, and last year a bill was signed to prevent gay pride events in the capital Moscow, for the next 100 years. Of course, there has been an international backlash against these laws in addition to Miller’s letter.

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. Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice.’