Homophobic, yet popular Russian actor appointed creative director of clothing company

The appointment of well-known Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin for the position of creative director of Russian retailer Baon caused outrage with German clothing manufacturer Heinrich Obermeyer GmbH & Co. KG.

Managing Director of the German company, Andreas Burger, called the appointment of the homophobic actor unacceptable. The actor stirred quite a controversy after he released "inhumane and disgusting statements" about homosexual individuals. Burger said that his company was not sure whether it was going to continue cooperation with Baon.

Okhlobystin, formerly a priest and currently a popular actor, said that homosexuals should be burned alive in furnaces. He also wrote an open letter to President Putin, in which he called on the Russian president to conduct a referendum to reinstate criminal responsibility for sodomy,

On the contrary, Ilya Yaroshenko, the owner of Baon, best known in Russia for its warm clothes, stated that Okhlobystin was consistent with the target audience of the company that values ​​traditional family values and Orthodoxy.