Reggie Yates talks LGBT rights in Russia with Attitude: ‘Prejudice is disgusting’

Reggie Yates has teamed up with the BBC to film a series of documentaries about what life is like in Russia. After looking at groups with extremely nationalistic views during last week’s show, the next episode (Monday, April 20) in the BBC3 documentary series will see Reggie experience firsthand what it’s like for gay people living in the right-wing country in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s controversial anti-gay law. Yates’s journey takes him to some unusual places – he even strips off and hangs out in a Russian sauna to speak with one homophobic man (who ends up whipping him while nude – seriously. We’ve got the clip at the end of this interview).

We spoke to Reggie to find out what made him want to take part in the series and what his thoughts are about the people he met on his incredible journey.

How did the idea for the show come about?

This series is the second I’ve done; it’s the follow-on from the South Africa documentary I did last year under essentially the same title. The reason that series happened was because I’ve done several documentaries with the BBC in the past and I just wanted find some of the most extreme characters we could and see what it’s like for young people to live in and amongst them.

What was it like meeting these people with such abhorrent views? 

Well, it’s always a shock when you meet someone that has such shocking views. It was the first thing that hit me. But beyond that, it was more about understanding the why these people feel this way and where the views came from. The first episode dealt with racism and nationalistic views, this episode deals with homophobia and what it means to grow out as a gay guy or girl in Russia and then the third episode is about model factories. It’s about understanding, as opposed to judging.

Was there a personal reason behind your drive to make the episode dealing with homophobia? 

Just like the nationalistic episode, I’m not friends with anyone that has those views and it doesn’t affect my life, but it does affect some people and it is a problem. It’s something I wanted to find out more about. With the homophobia episode, it affects a lot of people around the world. it’s a real issue. Everyone will have a personal connection, there’s no one left that isn’t related to, in love with, or knows someone that is gay. Being gay isn’t niche anymore, it’s something we all talk about and something we’re all connected to.

Homophobia is getting worse every year in Russia. In 2013, 74% said that homosexuality shouldn’t be accepted, a number which has risen over 10% in the past decade alone. 

It’s scary numbers!

It really is, isn’t it. Why do you think the views have got worse?

I think a lot of the time these things stem from very basic things. There’s a lot of problems in Russia at the moment. What better way to take your mind off of your problems than by turning around and targeting someone else, which is why I believe why homophobia is such a problem there.When your world is in turmoil, sometimes its easy to point the finger at somebody else.

Do you think there’s been a rise in similar views here in the UK?

Not to the extent as in Russia. Don’t get me wrong, there’s problems with homophobia all over the world. The views of people in smaller city communities are being driven toward groups with views such as UKIP because the country is changing. Britain is a very different place to how it was 15 or 20 years ago.

Did your experience in Russia help you to understand the struggles that gay people go through? 

Yes and no, actually. It’s easy to forget that what I experienced in Russia was an extreme case of homophobia. What was happening during my time there isn’t the case in the UK, although obviously there are isolated incidences. However, a lot of the things that were said over there just wouldn’t fly in this country. It definitely opened my eyes to how horrible it can be!

Look, prejudice is prejudice, regardless of whether it’s race or sexuality. I think it’s disgusting and something I definitely don’t stand for.

There’s a particularly powerful moment in the episode where you meet a man that tells you than homophobia is “natural” and homosexuality is “unnatural”. Did you find it hard to listen to someone who has views that are…

Ridiculous? Make no sense?

Yes, exactly. 

It’s always hard to hear someone say something massively offensive to your face. But the point of me being there was to try and hear these views and understand them. For me to shout them down would have completely missed the purpose of my trip. In all honesty, something that I believe is far more powerful is to allow these people to speak and essentially give them the rope to hang  themselves.

There’s nothing better than letting an idiot speak! [Laughs] Sometimes if you just let them talk and challenge and prod and steer them in the right direction, you have them reveal how ridiculous their beliefs are without even trying.

In the program, Reggie visits a local sauna to talk to one man with homophobic views. 

Is there a moment in particular from your trip that has stuck in your mind since returning to the UK?

There were tons of moments. They made me realise not how difficult it must be as a gay man or woman dealing with such oppression. I spoke with a young woman out there who had been attacked and wasn’t helped by the police, and I attended an event where we were being attacked from all angles by homophobes who weren’t being arrested by police.

Gay people are almost being treated as second-class citizens because of their sexuality. There were constantly moments where I was appreciative of how far we come in the UK.

Reggie Yates’ Extreme Russia: Gay & Under Attack airs on BBC3 on Monday (April 20) at 9pm. 

Watch a clip from the episode – in which Reggie gets whipped by a naked man in a sauna (!) – below: