"Prison Break" star Wentworth Miller officially came out as gay Wednesday after publicly declining an invitation to be honored at the St. Petersburg International Film Festival in protest of Russia's recently passed anti-gay laws.
"As a gay man, I must decline," Miller wrote in an open explanation on the GLAAD website.
He continued further in his letter to festival director Maria 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.
Miller made his screenwriting debut with this year’s "Stoker," and has appeared in films such as "Underworld,""The Human Stain," and "Resident Evil: Retribution."
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