A petition in Ukraine to replace a statue of the Russian Empress Catherine II, better known as Catherine the Great, with one depicting U.S. gay porn star Billy Herrington, has gained enough signatures to be reviewed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Catherine II is a controversial historical figure whose actions caused great damage to Ukrainian statehood and culture," the petition reads. "The very fact of erecting this monument was a terrible mistake, and every day of its continued existence signals that Odesa is in the zone of Russian cultural influence. It's time to change that. A monument project is proposed where the actor Billy Herrington will sit at the bar with a bottle of beer."
The petition needed at least 25,000 signatures in order for it to be recognized and responded to by Zelensky, according to Ukrainian law. It now has more than 26,000.
Ukraine is currently at war with Russia after it was invaded by the country earlier this year. Odessa has not fallen to Russian military assaults, which have ramped up in recent days.
The petition claimed that in addition to renouncing "the infamous Russian heritage," replacing the current Catherine the Great statue with one of Billy Herrington would also send a "clear signal that Ukraine supports the LGBT community" and a "loud statement that Odesa is not some provincial town of the Russian Empire" but instead has its own rich heritage as well as a sense of humor.
Much of Ukraine was annexed by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. Although Catherine was born a Prussian princess in what is now northern Poland, she ruled Russia for 34 years during the latter half of the 18th century after her husband, Peter III, was removed from power. She was known for her sexual freedom with men. Critics of the empress gossiped that she had a fondness for sex with horses.
Billy Herrington had a prolific career as a gay adult film star. In 2002 he was honored with the Adult Erotic Gay Video Award for the Best Group Sex scene for his performance in Conquered alongside Nino Bacci, Colton Ford, Blake Harper, and Jay Ross. His performance in the film turned out to be his Hamlet, netting him further Adult Erotic Gay Video nominations for Best Actor and Best Three-Way Sex Scene, as well as GayVN Award nominations in the categories of Best Actor and Best Group Sex Scene. In 2000 he was honored as the Colt Man of the Year.
Herrington gained legendary gachimuchi meme status after a clip from Workout: Muscle Fantasies 3 with deliberate mishearing of lines went viral in 2007. The film featured hunky men wearing athletic supporters wrestling and eventually engaging in various sex acts. His performance and the meme earned him the moniker of Aniki, or big brother, in Japanese online communities. He passed away from injuries suffered in an automobile accident in 2018.
This is not the first time the citizens of Ukraine have sought to honor Herrington. In April citizens unsuccessfully lobbied to have a dark alley named in his honor.
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