Putin thinks it should be illegal to depict him as gay – so Colbert did exactly that
Putin is angry about being put in makeup – so Stephen Colbert did just that.
The Kremlin leader is so annoyed with the concept that earlier this week, his government added an image of him in drag to the country’s registry of prohibited “extremist” content.
The much-distributed picture has circulated widely on the internet and at LGBT rights protests, seeking to resist the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law by lampooning Putin’s macho image.
So how will he feel about images of him in cut off jean shorts, makeup and little else, while sitting on a purple unicorn and being fondled by a happy Donald Trump?
We’re guessing he won’t be rushing to view the video – but you should. Because it’s hilarious.
Stephen Colbert, a long-time supporter of LGBT rights – who, lest we forget, became the second-most famous man to kiss Andrew Garfield this year – has created the reality we all wish for.
And last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he revealed that world.
“Because this is America – for now,” Colbert said, “and we can do anything we want, The Late Show has put together our own artistic interpretation of Vladimir Putin: Gay Icon.”
The video reveals a world in which national leaders can encourage you to “work it, girl” and be comfortable getting into same-sex relationships with each other.
“I like boys,” Putin tells the camera, leaving nothing to interpretation before instructing viewers to “wet your lips and make love to camera.”
The video ends on an ominous note, though, with Putin facing the camera down and telling the audience, straight-faced: “Seriously, you must work, or I will have you killed.”
Watch the full video here:
We salute you, Stephen.
Homophobia has surged in Russia since the passage of 2013’s so-called ‘gay propaganda’ law, which has been exploited by anti-LGBT forces in law enforcement and government in order to clamp down on the LGBT community.
Yesterday, the British government called for an urgent investigation into the “abhorrent” gay purge in Chechnya, which is part of Russia but has substantial autonomy.
Three people are reported to have died, while more than 100 gay men have been detained in the attacks, which have drawn condemnation and calls for an investigation from US and EU leaders too.
Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, reported detainees saying they were tortured and electrocuted in prison, while others described seeing prisoners beaten to death.
In a chilling response, a spokesperson for Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied that there were any gay people to detain, insisting that “you can’t detain and harass someone who doesn’t exist in the republic”.
The Kremlin has denied any knowledge of a purge.
And some reports have suggested that vigilante attacks and hate crimes against LGBT people are on the rise in Russia in general.
The Russian government recently warned citizens to refrain from homophobic attacks while on holiday in other countries.
