October 30, 2011 | Arts / Entertainment

Bulgaria's reigning gay

Meet Azis, one of Bulgaria's most beloved performers.

He's a singer, activist, politician and late night talk show host. He was even voted the 21st greatest Bulgarian of all time (and was in fact the second ranking living person on the list). Not bad for someone who is openly gay in the socially conservative Eastern European country.

Of course, he has his share of haters. In 2007, Boiko Borisov, then-mayor of Sofia, demanded that billboards of Azis kissing his husband be taken down in the city. He claimed they were too graphic.