October 21, 2014
Cher Sends Prayers to Russia's LGBT Community
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
While promoting a new HBO documentary that details the hardships gay men and women face in Russia, Cher took to Twitter Tuesday to show solidarity with Russia's LGBT community, specifically those who have been kidnapped and tortured.
"Sending Love 2 Our Gay Brothers & Sisters, Being Held Hostage in Russia.Their ONLY Crime is Being True 2Themselves! They R Brave Warriors," the 68-year-old singer wrote.
She then added the hashtag "#HuntedTheWarAgainstGaysinRussia," in a separate tweet, referencing an HBO documentary called "Hunted: The War against Gays in Russia," narrated by out actor Matt Bomer.
According to HBO's website, the film, "the documentary reveals how a recent anti-gay amendment to a Russian 'propaganda' law has encouraged growing outbreaks of violent hostility, including homophobic Russians who beat and torment gays and post graphic videos of their acts online with little or no legal repercussions."
You can read more about "Hunted" over at HBO's website.
This isn't the first time Cher showed solidarity for Russia's LGBT community. Last year, the gay icon said she turned down the opportunity to perform at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi over Russia's highly controversial, vaguely worded, anti-gay "propaganda" law, which aims to silence LGBT Russians by punishing them for spreading "non-traditional" relationships to minors.
"I can't name names, but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I'd like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show," Cher told Canadian news magazine Maclean's. "I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there."
Watch the trailer for "Hunted" below: