Russian t.A.T.u. Singer: I'd Condemn My Son if He's Gay

Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.

She had no problem pretending to be a lesbian, exploiting the LGBT community to capitalize on her 15-minutes of fame in the early 00s, but one half of the forgotten Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. is making headlines this week for admitting that she wouldn't love her son if he was gay, reportedly saying "a man has no right to be a fag."

Yulia Volkova appeared on Russian TV this week and revealed her feelings about gay people, Gay Star News reports.

"Will you condemn your son, if he is gay?" the interviewer asks, according to a translation of the interview done by GSN.

"Yes, I would condemn him, because I believe that a real man must be a real man," Volkova reportedly said. "God created man for procreation, it is the nature. The man for me is the support, the strength of... I won't accept a gay son."

The interviewer says that she just said she wouldn't mind if her daughter was a lesbian, however.

"This only applies to a daughter, not a son" the singer said.

"So you think that freedom can only be for women?" the host asks.

"I think for men it's a bad freedom" she continued. "In our time, there is a very large number of frivolous girls (and a man can be with a large number of these girls). This is freedom for men. And a man has no right to be a fag. Two girls together - not the same thing as the two men together. It seems to me that lesbians look aesthetically much nicer than two men holding their hands or kissing.

"But! I want to say that I'm not against gays, I just want my son to be a real man, not a fag," she added. "I have many gay friends. I believe that being gay is all still better than murderers, thieves or drug addicts. If you choose out of all this, being gay a little better than the rest."

t.A.t.U., whose other member is Lena Katina, rose to fame in 2002 with their dark pop single "All the Things She Said," which peaked at No. 20 in the U.S. The track's controversial music video gained them further international success as it shows the two women making out with each other in a jail cell, while soaking wet and wearing schoolgirl outfits.

According to Wikipedia, Volkova has said she's bisexual.

The duo also saw moderate success with their second single "Not Gonna Get Us," though it didn't chart in the U.S.

t.A.T.U reunited at the Sochi Winter Olympics this year and performed during the event's opening ceremony.

Watch the interview (in Russian) below, along with the music video for "All the Things She Said."



by Jason St. Amand , National News Editor

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