A Russian sitcom star has announced he believes gay people should be burned alive, adding that they pose a “living danger” to his children.
Father-of-six Ivan Okhlobystin made his comments during a chat with fans in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, The Moscow Times writes.
“I’d put them all alive in the oven… it’s a living danger to my children,” the 47-year-old is reported to have said.
Ivan Okhlobystin stars in Russia's answer to Scrubs - Interns
Okhlobystin, who stars in Interns - Russia’s answer to US medical sitcom Scrubs - also ranted about “gay facism”, demanded “faggots” be stripped of their voting rights and denounced homosexuality as a “physical anomaly”.
The actor previously served simultaneously as an Orthodox Christian priest but was suspended at his own request in 2010.
He had been accused of “upsetting believers and diminishing his church rank” following his depiction of a jester in Tsar, a film about Ivan the Terrible released in 2009.
Okhlobystin also made a short-lived bid for the presidency in 2011, campaigning for an ‘Iron Wall’ to be erected around Russia as part of a ‘cleansing’ and ‘rebuilding’ of the nation, Gay Star News reveals.
A “gay propaganda” ban was enacted in Russia in June and essentially bans displays of homosexuality. It is also “illegal to spread information about non-traditional sexual behaviour” to minors (under 18s).
Signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, the legislation gives the Russian government the right to detain gay or “pro-gay” foreigners up to 14 days before facing expulsion from the country.
There has been growing uproar at the prospect of gay athletes and supporters at Russia’s 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Gamesfacing arrest under the legislation.