Opera star blames husband for anti-gay Facebook post

Georgian opera singer Tamar Iveri, who was criticised this week for apparently posting an ‘anti-gay’ Facebook message, has insisted it was actually her husband who wrote the comments.

In a Facebook letter responding to a protest by LGBT activists in the capital city of Tbilisi, Iveri wrote to Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili asking him to “stop vigorous attempts to bring [the] West’s fecal masses” – apparently a reference to gay people, or equal rights for gay people – into the eastern European country.

In a statement issued yesterday (June 21), Iveri claimed that it was her husband who wrote the letter, explaining that he is “a very religious man with a tough attitude toward gay people,” reports The Independent.

“You might imagine that I was not happy with that at all and I immediately deleted it when I saw the text about half an hour later. The text does not express my own opinion,” she added.

Iveri’s husband posted statement on Facebook earlier today (June 22), insisting that his wife “has never been homophobic, and especially not against Western values”.

“I consider it necessary to explain that I was the one who wrote the letter that day,” he added.

Since the anti-gay letter was picked up by news outlets, the singer’s employer, Opera Australia, has come under pressure to remove her from future productions. The company has since issued a statement to newspaper The Australianoutlining its stance on the furore, saying:

“Opera Australia has become aware in the past 24 hours of the media and social media coverage of comments reported to have been made by soprano Tamar Iveri. Tamar Iveri has sought to clarify her views on this important issue, and has issued an apology and explanation on her own Facebook page.”

The statement also confirmed that Iveri will continue with rehearsals for the company’s upcoming production of Otello.