Video: TV and Broadway stars in Russia ‘gay propaganda’ law spoof
Some of the biggest TV and Broadway stars, including Glee’s Jonathan Groff, have appeared in a spoof video to protest Russian propaganda laws.
The cameo-filled video imagines what life would be like on a Broadway restricted by Russia’s ‘gay propaganda’ law, in which all “homosexual theatre” is outlawed, and includes lesbian cosmonauts, star-crossed gay Olympic lovers, and the tragic backstory of Vladimir Putin.
It includes some of TV and Broadway’s biggest names, including Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), Jonathan Groff (Glee, Looking), Jeremy Jordan (Smash), Laura Osnes (Grease), Joanna Gleason (Into The Woods), Harvey Fierstein (Hairspray), Andrew Rannells (The New Normal), and the Avenue Q puppets, to name but a few.
It was created by John Walton West and composed by Jason Michael Snow.
Russia passed a law in June 2013 banning distribution of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors, which means gay people cannot express their views on LGBT rights to anyone under the age of 18.
A report last week by Human Rights Watch (HRW) showed homophobic violence is on the rise in Russia.
The Winter Olympic games open in Sochi in two weeks, on February 7.
