Russia: Steve Jobs memorial torn down after Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

A giant interactive iPhone memorial to Steve Jobs was reportedly torn down in St Petersburg after Apple’s current CEO came out as gay last week.

Business Insider reports ZEFS – the company that originally funded the memorial – decided to tear it down after Cook said he was “proud to be gay.”

The six-foot tall memorial erected in 2013 featured moments from Jobs’ life as well as scrolling quotations from his speeches.

ZEFS chairman Maxim Dolgopov said the memorial was also dismantled as gesture against “aggressive” NSA spying.

Last week, Vitaly Milonov, the politician behind St Petersburg’s anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law that has since been adopted federally by the Russian Parliament, suggested Mr Cook could bring “the Ebola virus, AIDS [and] gonorrhea” to Russia.

Tim Cook came out publicly in Businesweek, writing: “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

Despite never publicly addressing his sexuality, Cook topped Out Magazine’s power list three years in a row between 2011 and 2013.

He came second on this year’s list, edged out by TV host Ellen DeGeneres.

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