A petition with more than 26,000 signatures has been forwarded to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for a statue of the 18th-century Russian Empress Catherine the Great in Odesa to be replaced with a likeness of the gay porn star Billy Herrington.
The petition argues that the Catherine statue’s “continued existence signals that Odesa is in the zone of Russian cultural influence” while a Herrington statue would send a “clear signal that Ukraine supports the LGBTQ community” and show Odesa has its own rich heritage—as well as, presumably, a sense of humour. Zelensky has responded that any decision about replacing the statue must be taken by Odesa City Council, which had installed the original statue. The Art Newspaper contacted the council, but as yet there is no word about the erection of the porn star statue.
