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- Volkova told Russia's MK newspaper in 2012 that she likes both "boys and girls." As a member of t.A.T.u., she was once known for celebrating inclusion and championing LGBT rights.
- "Our slogan is to love and it's not important whom to love," Volkova said in a 2006 interview, per the Independent. "We want to say that a boy can love a boy and a girl can love a girl. If all people would love each other, it would be easier to live in this world. If people are led by hatred and evil, nothing good would happen from this."
- As a video of Volkova's comments went viral this week before being removed from YouTube, the 29-year-old singer was roundly slammed by many former fans.
- "Good to know one of my idols is a complete homophobe, despite her and [Lena Katina] being a beacon of hope for LGBT in Russia," wrote one YouTuber Thursday after watching a clip of Volkova's comments. "I guess Yulia has become exactly what she preached against."
It's despicable but these days, it's hard being a pop star in Russia if you don't agree with the government's stance on everything. Look at the pro-ukrainian russian stars, they get basically labeled as enemies of the people and exiled from all media unless the media is bashing them. It's hypocritical of TATU but they were never really gay rights supporters, they just knew a sexy lesbian image will make them a lot of money and now that being pro-gay is not so profitable anymore they are backing up.