Apple CEO, Tim Cook, recently came out as gay, and as expected he had a lot of support from people within the industry and from Apple fans alike. However, not everyone is pleased with Cook's decision to make his sexuality publicly known, for example, the Russians.
According to a report from BuzzFeed, a Russian politician and the man behind the gay propaganda ban in the country, has called for Tim Cook to be banned from entering Russia for the rest of his life. This came less than a day after Cook announced that he is gay.
"What could he bring us? The Ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhea? They all have unseemly ties over there," St. Petersburg city council member Vitaly Milonov told the FlashNord website on Thursday. "Ban him for life."
That is the call by Milonov, ban Tim Cook for life. We doubt President Putin will even consider this, but if he should, it could lead to significant problems for Apple in the long term. Russia is a massive market, and if the government chooses to ban the CEO from ever entering the country, then it means there's a possibility of Apple products being also banned.
Some might say that Apple wouldn't feel the pinch since the company only controls around 8 percent of the Russian market. However, with a country with over 140 million people, 8 percent share of that market is huge, and Apple cannot afford to lose it.
We have to say that even with the obvious crackdown on gay men and women in Russia, it was very unprofessional of Milonov to make such a statement. Saying stuff about the possibility of Tim Cook bringing AIDS and Ebola to the Russian Federation. We understand that he is not a person who supports the LGBT movement, but he should be wise to choose his words carefully because he now comes off like a mad man.
It will be interesting to see of Russian citizens abandon Apple products after Tim Cook coming out as gay. We have a feeling that folks within the Russian parliament will no doubt throw their iPhones and iPads into the bin before long.
