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Homophobic NASA head Jim Bridenstine invited far-right nationalist Dmitry Rogozin to speak at both their headquarters and Rice University.Â
NASA and Rice University officials announced recently they are "indefinitely postponing" a visit from Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's space agency and a far-right figure connected to Nazi groups, according to the Washington Post.
GLAAD claimed victory in the cancellation; the LGBTQ media watchdog group pressured NASA to can the appearance, which would have taken place despite U.S. sanctions against Rogozin for his role in Russian aggression against Ukraine. Granting a temporary waiver on the sanctions, as NASA planned to do, raised many eyebrows.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, an antigay Trump appointee, was behind the Rogozin appearance. Aside from the sanctions, Rogozin -- who functions as both the head of Russia's space agency and the nation's deputy prime minister -- has a long history of homophobia and misogyny; the Post reports he's been caught on video using the Nazi salute.
Rogozin has called Madonna a "whore" for supporting LGBTQ rights and claimed the West will collapse "under the pressure of ISIS and gays." He's attacked a Latvian politician after he came out, as well as the gender-nonconforming singer Conchita Wurst. Rogozin also made many crude comments about gay sex.
"Rice University and NASA did the right thing by standing up to the anti-LGBTQ activism that's become a hallmark of the Trump Administration," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. "Dmirty Rogozin's anti-LGBTQ animus has no place visiting the United States, and it's reassuring that fair-minded people put marginalized communities and their safety ahead of the Trump Administration's toxic political agenda."
