British pop star Sam Smith is boycotting Russia because of the country's anti-gay laws.

The Stay With Me hitmaker, who is openly gay, is adamant he will never travel to the country due to the negative treatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (Lgbt) community there.

He tells Britain's The Sun newspaper, "I won't go to Russia. I've got fans there but I can't go because the way they treat gay people is horrendous... In America where you think the people should be so far ahead, there's a long way to go. And you can only imagine what it's like in other countries. This is what angers me - especially in the U.K., we think that everything is Ok now. Not just in terms of homophobia, but racism too. But it's so far from Ok. There's such a long way to go."

Same-sex marriage and civil unions are illegal in Russia, while President Vladimir Putin has introduced legislation to limit public displays of homosexuality.

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