Russian legislator accuses U2 of ‘promoting homosexuality’

A Russian legislator has accused U2 of 'promoting homosexuality' with their Songs of Innocence album cover.

The cover features Larry Mullen embracing his son Elvis, with the message that 'holding on to your own innocence is a lot harder than holding on to somebody else's.' But Russian politician Alexander Starovoitov refuses to see it like that... Starovoitov condemned both the Irish band and Apple for allowing the album to be downloaded to the phones of Russians in the wake of the country's anti-gay legislation adopted two years ago. "Just like many citizens of the Russian Federation, I am an iPhone owner," Starovoitov said in the address to the Prosecutor's Office, quoted by the Russian daily Izvestia. "In 2014, tracks by U2 were uploaded in a viral way to my music folder in iTunes, with the album cover featuring what I believe to be two men engaged in a manifestation of non-traditional sexual relations." This story originated on Billboard, who failed to draw a comment from either Apple or U2. Doubtless both sides felt it was unnecessary to respond to such an offensive interpretation of the cover art.