Wentworth Miller
The 41-year-old star declined an invitation to a Russian film festival after the country passed a series of anti-gay laws. He had been asked to attend the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, reported Hollywood Life.
"As a gay man, I must decline," he wrote in his reply, which was made public by the campaigning group GLAAD. "I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government.
He 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," Wentworth added said in his letter.
The actor said if circumstances improved he would be free to make a different choice, adding that he had a degree of Russian ancestry' and had enjoyed past visits to the country previously. Russian President Vladimir Putin in July signed a law banning the adoption of Russian-born children by gay couples.
Putin in June signed another bill that classified 'homosexual propaganda' as pornography and provides for fines and arrest for those making it accessible to minors. A law passed in 2012 also banned public gay pride events in Moscow for the next 100 years. Wentworth is best known for his role as Michael Scofield in Fox's 'Prison Break'.
