Openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts
criticized Russia's anti-gay law while in Moscow to host the Miss
Universe pageant.
Roberts said in accepting the gig that
he wanted to co-host the pageant “partly because it is a huge,
visible opportunity for LGBT people. Everywhere.”
“I know that the law is very vague
and still hard to interpret for many people,” Roberts said while on
the show's red carpet Saturday. “But it is discrimination and
that's definitive. And I don't think that the LGBT population in
Russia or anywhere should be marginalized to that degree.”
“We're not asking for special
protection,” Roberts added. “We're just asking for equal
protection.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Roberts' statements were in direct
contradiction to President Vladimir Putin, who
has said that the nation's prohibition on “gay propaganda” to
minors is “no infringement on the rights of sexual minorities.”
(Related: Donald
Trump “evolving” on gay marriage.)