Prison Break star Wentworth Miller has come out as gay. The actor was asked to attend a film festival in Russia and this prompted him to publicly reveal his sexual orientation. He refused to come to this country because of its conservative anti-gay rights.

In an open letter St. Petersburg International Film Festival director Maria Averbakh, Miller writes, “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.”

Miller ends his letter, which was first published on gay rights group Glaad’s website on Wednesday (August 21), by saying, “Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice.”

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