Member Since: 12/15/2011
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Gay American actor on Russian TV comes out
most people are indifferent, but the christian co-star's reaction 
read the full article at the link because i can't share the whole thing
Quote:
Mr. Biron’s coming out took guts. That an actor is gay is hardly news, even in Russia. But what is rare is that he went public. In recent years, the nation’s ingrained “don’t ask, don’t tell” culture has run up against a 2013 law that criminalizes so-called gay “propaganda,” and another law against offending the sensibilities of religious believers. One of Mr. Biron’s co-stars on “Interns” — Ivan Okhlobystin, a former Russian Orthodox priest who said last year that gay people should be burned alive in ovens — called Mr. Biron “a sodomite.” He also said that Mr. Biron was crazy to come out and cause an unnecessary scandal for the show.
Outside Russia, some advocates of equal rights for gay people regard him as a hero, but in Russia, the reactions to Mr. Biron’s coming out seem to have ranged from indifference to some tabloid interest. Word traveled quickly on news websites and via social media, but television news stations barely blinked.
But it is clear that Mr. Biron’s disclosure has caused tension on the set. The dynamic with Mr. Okhlobystin is a Dostoyevskian drama in its own right — a clash of two men with deeply held, irreconcilable beliefs. After Mr. Biron came out, Mr. Okhlobystin, who plays the interns’ boss, Bykov, wrote in a tweet: “Bykov will never know that Phil is a pervert. But Okhlobystin, when he learned that his friend Odin is a sodomite, bashed his head against the wall and cursed fate.”
In a phone interview last week, Mr. Okhlobystin said he was still in shock. “He wasn’t discussed or judged, but everyone was wondering, ‘Why? Why now?’ ” Mr. Okhlobystin said. “This scandal is embarrassing. It would be better if it never happened.”
He said he could no longer remain friends with Mr. Biron. “Of course not,” he said.
“It put us in an idiotic position,” he continued. “A sodomite is working near us, and then he confesses that. It would be better for us not to know.” He added that as professionals, they would finish shooting the rest of the season.
Still, Mr. Okhlobystin had some praise for Mr. Biron. “He’s a beautiful person, he’s a talented person, he knows Russian really well,” he said. He said his comments last year that gays should burn in ovens had been overblown, but that he stood by them. “As an Orthodox Christian, I have to hold a certain opinion about gays,” he said. “For us they’re not people, homo sapiens, they’re like aliens.” But he said he also believed that “we hate the sin, not the sinner.”
“Odin is absolutely safe, and his life will be comfortable, please don’t worry,” Mr. Okhlobystin added.
On an “Interns” fan page with nearly 700,000 members on Vkontakte, the Russian Facebook, reactions were split. “I respect his courage,” wrote one fan, Darina Streltsova. Others disagreed. “I personally feel disgusted by the fact that he’s gay, but I don’t have to live with him, and at the same time I enjoy watching Phil!” Kristina Misurina wrote.
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