Gay couple pull out of competition to become cover stars of Ikea Russia
By Will Stroude
A same-sex couple have pulled out of a competition to become the ‘face’ of Ikea Russia.
The Swedish furniture company, who recently featured a same-sex couple in their new advert, is holding a special competition for families, couples, friends and even individuals to participate in a photo shoot for the latest magazine cover.
The competition, named The Face from the Cover, was launched seven years ago to draw attention to the new edition of the catalogue and inviting shoppers to become the next models.
Lee Polyakov and his boyfriend posed for the cover in the Khimki store in Moscow and thousands were hoping they were going to win, but the couple have now pulled out of the competition.
According to the Telegraph, the couple had around 7,525 vote while the couple in second place had 834.
A spokesperson from Ikea Russia told Gay Star News that the couple had written a request to “withdraw”.
The spokesperson said, “They just mentioned that they did not expect such media attention when deciding to participate.”
Last year Ikea was forced to close down an online magazine in Russia over fears it would cross the country’s “propaganda” law however Ikea Russia told Gay Star News that they would have allowed the people to chose the winner.
“We at Ikea are for the many. We welcome anybody regardless of their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, marital or family status, or any other dimension of their identity.”
“This principal permeates every aspect of Ikea, be it employment, or any even organised by Ikea.”
More stories:
Table for Two | ‘My stepdad would get on better with him’
Gay love in America’s Bible Belt explored in new LGBT series ‘Feral’ – WATCH