TV

Gay host: Russia judging gig OK

MSNBC host Thomas Roberts, who is openly gay, will co-host the 2013 Miss Universe Competition from Moscow, Russia — as the country continues to be criticized by the global community for adopting strict anti-gay legislation earlier this year.

Roberts will emcee the Nov. 9 NBC event alongside “America’s Got Talent” judge Mel B. It’s the first time the beauty pageant will be held in Russia. The duo replace Andy Cohen and Giuliana Rancic, who hosted the past two years.

The openly gay Cohen boycotted the pageant this year, believing it was “unsafe” for him to visit the country.

“The law is that anyone under suspicion of homosexuality can be arrested,” he told E! News in August, adding that he “didn’t feel right as a gay man stepping foot into Russia.”

In an blog post on MSNBC.com Thursday, Roberts defended his decision to go to Russia despite its anti-gay laws.

“I am not going to boycott,” he wrote. “Boycotting and vilifying from the outside is too easy. Rather, I choose to offer my support of the LGBT community in Russia by going to Moscow and hosting this event as a journalist, an anchor and a man who happens to be gay. Let people see I am no different than anyone else.”