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He’s finally out: Prison Break star reveals he’s gay

LOS ANGELES — American actor Wentworth Miller, best known as the star of television series Prison Break, has come out of the closet in taking a public stand against tough anti-homosexual laws in Russia.

LOS ANGELES — American actor Wentworth Miller, best known as the star of television series Prison Break, has come out of the closet in taking a public stand against tough anti-homosexual laws in Russia.

British-born Miller, 41, yesterday (Aug 21) revealed he is gay in declining an invitation to attend next month’s St Petersburg International Film Festival.

In his reply, made public by gay advocate group GLAAD (formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Wentworth wrote: “As a gay man, I must decline.”

The country’s president, Vladimir Putin, last month passed a new law banning gay couples from from adopting Russian-born children. In June, he signed a bill banning “homosexual propaganda” as pornography.

This year’s bills, which follow a law passed last year forbidding gay pride marches in Moscow, have sparked protests in the country, with calls for athletes to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

“I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government,” Wentworth added in his letter to the St Petersburg festival.

“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.”

Wentworth added that he has “a degree of Russian ancestry” and had enjoyed past visits to the country. AGENCIES

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