Russian lawmaker sees Apple’s U2 album as gay ‘propaganda’

A member of Russia’s parliament has asked prosecutors to determine whether Apple violated Russia’s ban on gay “propaganda” when it delivered U2’s latest album to a half-billion iTunes users for free last year.

Izvestia, a newspaper loyal to the Kremlin, reported Wednesday that it has a copy of Alexander Starovoitov’s appeal to prosecutors in which he says the cover of the album “Songs of Innocence” shows two men “in a display of non-traditional sexual relations.”

In fact, the cover shows the band’s drummer embracing his 18-year-old son, both of them shirtless.

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will open an investigation.

Some of those in Russia who ridiculed Starovoitov’s appeal drew a comparison to the time in 2006 when President Vladimir Putin kissed a small boy’s bare stomach.