Thomas Roberts to critics of his Miss Universe gig in Russia: ‘Have A Little More Faith in Me’

After MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts announced last week that he is going to co-host the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, some critics pounced.

They wondered why an openly gay man would take a gig for an event being held in a country with anti-gay laws.

Some people argue that he will inadvertently provide a supportive platform to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s anti-LGBT agenda. Plus the pageant is run by American billionaire Donald Trump, who maintains his opposition to marriage equality.

In an interview with The Advocate today, Thomas says he’s ‘dismayed’ by the criticisms.

Here are some excerpts from his Advocate interview:

The Advocate: In your op-ed with MSNBC, you said that you aggressively pursued the opportunity to host this pageant when it became available. What was the thinking behind that for you? Why did you want to host this event?
Thomas Roberts: My thinking was that it’s such a large, visible opportunity. It’s saying, in over 190 countries, to a billion people, that we have a place at the table, we have a seat, and why give that up? While the homophobic laws are a major concern, there are unfortunately LGBT discriminatory laws that exist in other countries beyond Russia, and I thought this was a huge visible opportunity not only for… our own country, for Russia as well, but for the 188 countries where this is going to be seen. So I thought this was a fantastic opportunity for people to learn about me being openly gay, and marriage, and my husband being with me, and send a strong message.

How would you respond to folks who say it’s tough to see what life is like on the Russian playing field for LGBT people, when you are on a different level, and attending there with a different level of security than the average queer person in Russia enjoys?
Well, in advance of making this decision to accept this assignment, a lot of critical thinking went into it. And that was me coordinating to reach out to LGBT Russian activists, and to do my homework, and to get a dialogue going with them. So I didn’t make this decision without doing my homework, and I continue to have great drive about the purpose of why I’m going there, and why somebody like me can do a lot more than just host, cohost, Miss Universe. So, I’m aligned with a cable network, a television network, and if people don’t think that I’m going to do reporting from there, they’re crazy.

You mentioned that you reached out, and did your homework before accepting this assignment. What was the response of Russian LGBT activists that you reached out to?
I was told: don’t boycott. I was told that this is too big of an opportunity, and that voices like theirs need representation. So, what they want is, while they don’t feel safe, they want influential people to come in, and speak out. Not only can I speak out ahead of time, before going, but I also have a great capacity to cover and storytell. So, that’s why this assignment was so attractive to me.