After ‘Interns’ Star Came Out in Russia, a Mix of Fury and Shrugs; New York Times, 4/10/15

Rachel Donadio, New York Times; After ‘Interns’ Star Came Out in Russia, a Mix of Fury and Shrugs:

"In February, Odin Biron, an American actor who plays a naïve American son of two gay fathers in the hugely popular Russian medical sitcom “Interns,” took a calculated risk. He disclosed that he was gay...

Mr. Biron’s coming out took guts. That an actor is gay is hardly news, even in Russia. But what is rare is that he went public. In recent years, the nation’s ingrained “don’t ask, don’t tell” culture has run up against a 2013 law that criminalizes so-called gay “propaganda,” and another law against offending the sensibilities of religious believers. One of Mr. Biron’s co-stars on “Interns” — Ivan Okhlobystin, a former Russian Orthodox priest who said last year that gay people should be burned alive in ovens — called Mr. Biron “a sodomite.” He also said that Mr. Biron was crazy to come out and cause an unnecessary scandal for the show...

In a phone interview last week, Mr. Okhlobystin said he was still in shock. “He wasn’t discussed or judged, but everyone was wondering, ‘Why? Why now?’ ” Mr. Okhlobystin said. “This scandal is embarrassing. It would be better if it never happened.”

He said he could no longer remain friends with Mr. Biron. “Of course not,” he said.

“It put us in an idiotic position,” he continued. “A sodomite is working near us, and then he confesses that. It would be better for us not to know.” He added that as professionals, they would finish shooting the rest of the season."