A powerful and heartbreaking new video has highlighted the homophobic and hate-fuelled context that the Sochi Winter Olympic Games are being held in.
The PSA (public service announcement) – released by Russia Freedom Fund, CoPilot and Athlete Ally – shows a gay couple being violently brutalised by a rugby team on a sports field as the music of King Arivel plays in the background and the crowd cheers on.
The film is titled “Russia Declares Discrimination Newest Olympic Sport” on YouTube.
According to its creators, the video “represents the horrendous climate for LGBT people not just in Russia, but in other parts of the world as well, including Uganda, Belize, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the other 76 nations around the world where being gay is still a crime.”
The video was co-produced and directed by Michael Rohrbraugh and executive produced by Chris Svoboda.
Watch it below.
