Soprano claims Facebook letter was “changed considerably” by spouse with “tough attitude” towards gays.

The Georgian soprano, currently rehearsing in the role of Desdemona in Otello for Opera Australia next month, has hit back at reports that she is homophobic, claiming that her husband was responsible for the letter posted on her Facebook page last year.

“I am shocked and saddened by the reports in the internet and in the Australian media calling me a homophobic,”  writes Tamar Iveri. “For my entire career I have been working with gay people and some of them are very dear friends. All of them can confirm that I never lost a word that might associate me with homophobic ideas. I respect every single human being and I am against all kind of descrimination (sic) and violence.”

She goes on to say that her husband, Raul Tskhadadze, had access to her Facebook account, admitting him to be “a very religious man with a tough attitude towards gay people”. According to Iveri, “he copied my text, changed it considerably and posted it under my name.”

When it was originally posted on Facebook, Iveri’s now infamous letter appears to have been written to...