Leonid

[Annie]

Actually, I would say that the Russian yellow press are worse than the British. At least in the UK, celebrities can sue and win if lies are printed about them
I don't think anyone is going to believe the article is true, but I'd rather deal with it openly and quickly, rather than pretend it wasn't written and some fans getting worried. But like you say, Maria, there is nothing more really to say about this horrible rumour. It's done enough damage and hurt enough people, and all for the sake of selling some newspapers

[MariaV]

Right you are, Ruth!

[Neo]

Ruth said:

BTW, I'm going to mention the following article, because it's most likely people will stumble across it when searching on the internet, and I've already had a few worried emails about it.

There was an article written in March 2002 in Russian press that Marat & Leonid were in a gay relationship ( : Basically, the article said that they couldn't be just close friends; there must be something more between them. The journalists had followed them at DC practice sessions in Moscow and because Marat & Leonid often sat talking together, messed about in front of the cameras, and disappeared into areas closed to the press, it was assumed they must be gay (again: : There was some pathetic 'photographic evidence' to prove they were gay, consisting of a picture of Leonid grabbing Marat's cuff in a paparazzi scramble (big deal!) and Marat scratching his..erm.... crotch during a DC match that Leonid was watching (therefore they must be gay, right? :

Leonid commented on this particular rumour in an interview and said that both he and Marat had been really hurt by the article, and worse, both families had been very upset by the rumour.

If you want to read it, a copy of the original Russian article is here: www.erectrofon.gay.ru/rumours/00-17.htm but doesn't have the photos. I'll add the photo version when I can find a link ;D

.... again, unbelievable..... I would have sued their asses!

P.S. I've seen straight guys doing A LOT more than that....... ;D
P.P.S. Don't worry, Marat, women know better! ;D

[kasey]

That is ridiculous... as im sure you'll all agree. I get the impression Marat is on the border of being 'anti' gay..(read something somewhere..) but yeh the media wreck people's lives, in all countries. Thats something that really bothers me

[zita]

kasey said:

That is ridiculous... as im sure you'll all agree. I get the impression Marat is on the border of being 'anti' gay..(read something somewhere..) but yeh the media wreck people's lives, in all countries. Thats something that really bothers me

I just don't care wether his gay or not .It's his life .And yes , i agree abt media.

[Myke]

zita said:

I just don't care wether his gay or not .It's his life.

Amen to that!

And about the media...it's one of the least original things to write about a "famous" person,. Don't they write this about almost everyone at least once?

[Annie]

zita said:

I just don't care wether his gay or not .It's his life.

It's not that simple, I'm afraid. Marat's mother is a practising Muslim so this kind of lie would be extremely hurtful. Also, it's a damaging kind of lie because people always wonder 'Maybe it's true?' so everytime they are seen with male friends, people point the finger. Articles like this can start whispers and make relationships with women more difficult because people will be saying to the girls involved 'did you read about him being gay?'
Also, just the fact that someone is telling lies about you and printing them in national newspapers; that is really bad, knowing you have no control over who reads it or the opinion they will have of you as a result. The worst is that you have no platform to make a complaint or your side of the story.
I think we have to remember that Russia is not as tolerant of homosexuality as other western countries. In the UK, if a celebrity has a gay affair or rumoured to be a lesbian etc, everyone is like 'so what? big deal.' But even in the capital, Moscow, there are still areas/nightclubs etc where if they think you are homosexual, you are lucky to leave there alive. So this kind of rumour can really do damage to Russian celebrities and put them at physical risk.

Anyway, we all know neither Marat nor Leonid are gay; the newspapers themselves prove it; a few weeks after the 'gay' story, they were writing articles about Marat having a 2yr old son (which then became a 3yr old daughter, the week after : and Leonid dating a series of strippers at the famous 'Dolls' stripclub in Moscow. (Actually, that wouldn't surprise me *rotfl*)

So we've got that nasty issue out of the way; let's move on and keep this thread about Leonid (and Marat!) and not about the lies written about them.

[zita]

Ruth said:

It's not that simple, I'm afraid.

So we've got that nasty issue out of the way; let's move on and keep this thread about Leonid (and Marat!) and not about the lies written about them.

I know Ruth and i'm with u on this matter .But all I wanted to point out is that to me I like him the way he is .I love his tennis , his humor , his expressiveness( not sure if this is an english word,hope u understand what i mean .

[Vassily]

Ruth said:

Anyway, we all know neither Marat nor Leonid are gay; the newspapers themselves prove it; a few weeks after the 'gay' story, they were writing articles about Marat having a 2yr old son (which then became a 3yr old daughter, the week after : and Leonid dating a series of strippers at the famous 'Dolls' stripclub in Moscow. (Actually, that wouldn't surprise me *rotfl*)

ROTFL

[MariaV]

Ruth said:

So we've got that nasty issue out of the way; let's move on and keep this thread about Leonid (and Marat!) and not about the lies written about them.

Yeah, let's move on! I really hope you won't have loads of hysterical e-mails again, Ruth!

[kasey]

yeh i agree Ruth..the repercussions of such an accusation are really damaging to a sportsman...just back to the topic, does Leonid have a female friend??

[Vassily]

kasey said:

does Leonid have a female friend??

hard to tell

[Annie]

Good question! I think Vass is right - it's difficult to tell... ;D He's had a few long term girlfriends, and unlike his friend Marat, seems more open and honest about who he dates and what status the relationship is at. But I don't really know what is being written about him in the Russian press (I get most of the news second hand) so I've no idea if he's single at the moment or not..... and as we've seen, the Russian press are notoriously unreliable anyway

The last news I heard was he'd split with Xenia Sobchak (the girl in the photo in this thread). But they seem to have split a few times, so they could be back together by now: or he could have found a replacement

BTW, something that makes me smile: when Lenya presented MTV, he did an entire episode NAKED! The editors put a black square over his......bits and pieces... but he didn't really care whether they did or not and said he's totally happy & unashamed about being naked (Anybody got this on tape? Send a copy to my home address......... ;D)

Here's some of my fave pics of 'ickle Lenchka...just posting 'em cos I like 'em ;D:

[Lucitienne]

He's cute, for sure!

[Vassily]

Ruth said:

BTW, something that makes me smile: when Lenya presented MTV, he did an entire episode NAKED! The editors put a black square over his......bits and pieces... but he didn't really care whether they did or not and said he's totally happy & unashamed about being naked (Anybody got this on tape? Send a copy to my home address......... ;D)

OMG. I'm outa here.