Russian singer and songwriter Lena Katina, best known as 1/2 of the former Russian duo t.A.T.u., is distancing herself from the homophobic remarks her former bandmate, Julia Volkova, made on television earlier this week.
Lena took to Facebook to reaffirm her support for the LGBT community. “Hey, all! I am seeing some comments lately regarding my position about LGBT and my religion,” she says. “I can say one thing: God is teaching us to live in love, to be tolerant and not to judge other people! And I do so! Love is love and it is a wonderful feeling! I think everybody should be free to love who they love and be with who they want to spend their life with! Xoxo.”
Earlier this week, Julia (Yulia) Volkova was asked on Ukrainian television if she would condemn her son for being gay, she replied, “Yes, I would condemn him, because I believe that a real man must be a real man. God created man for procreation, it is the nature. The man for me is the support, the strength of… I won’t support gay son.”
Adding: “This only applies to a daughter, not a son. 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.”
Lena Katina will release her debut solo album, This Is Who I Am, on November 18th. The 13-track record will include the single “Lift Me Up,” which was released in July with remixes from Dave Aude and Maxon. The title track, out October 7th, will serve as the second single from the album.
