Actor and screenwriter Wentworth Miller best known for his role on the television drama Prison Break, today rejected an invitation to attend the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, citing Russia’s anti-LGBT laws and publicly coming out as gay at the same time.

“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.”

THANK YOU Wentworth Miller and Welcome to the tribe!