Hillary Clinton’s campaign ad gets ’18+’ rating on Russian TV over gay couple
A Russian TV channel has given the video announcement of Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign an ’18+’ age rating.
In a video launching her Presidential campaign yesterday, the Democratic hopeful featured a range of Americans discussing their plans for the future, including Jared Milrad and his partner Nathan Johnson, who spoke about their plans to marry.
However, when the clip aired on Russian TV it aired with an ’18+’ rating – due to the inclusion of a same-sex couple.
Dozhd TV, Russia’s independent opposition TV channel, told ABC News it felt obliged to include an 18+ age rating on the video to risk falling foul of the country’s controversial so-called ‘gay propaganda’ law.
During the clip, in which Jared Milrad, 31 and Nathan Johnson, 30, walk along the street holding hands, a voice-over from one the pair says: “I’m getting married this summer to someone I really care about.”
The law in question – which was signed by President Putin in 2013 – effectively prohibits the showing of ‘non-traditional’ or homosexual relationships in any form to people under the age of 18.
If convicted of violating the law, offenders – which could include media outlets like Dozhd TV – face a sizeable fine.
Dozhd said it had received no instruction from the Russian government to include the age-rating and had instead acted ‘pre-emptively’.
Earlier today, the couple publicly invited Mrs Clinton to their upcoming nuptials, set to take place in the summer.
