Andy Cohen, the host of Bravo’s late-night talk show “Watch What Happens Live,†has declined to continue his co-hosting duties for a different event, the Miss Universe pageant, because due to the competition’s location in Russia and that country’s recent adoption of anti-gay laws.
According to a report on E! News online, Mr. Cohen told his Miss Universe co-host for the last two years, Guiliana Rancic, that he had dropped out of this year’s pageant because Russia’s “discriminatory policies make it unsafe for the gays who live there and gays coming to work or visit.†Mr. Cohen specifically mentioned a Russian law passed in June that allows police to arrest tourists and foreigners suspected of being gay or pro-gay and detain them for up to 14 days and added that he “didn’t feel right as a gay man stepping foot into Russia.†The event is scheduled to be held Nov. 9 at Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
An online petition has also been set up by Francesco Pascuzzi, a self-identified fan of the pageant, asking organizers to move it from Russia. So far it has received over 24,000 signatures. Representatives of the Miss Universe competition were not immediately available for comment and a new co-host has not been announced.
