GREG IN HOLLYWOOD

celebs! hugging! greg!

LATEST

GREG YOUR WAY

Take the feed! Subscribe

Get GIH news via Twitter

Follow Greg: Twitter Facebook

Greg on Flickr:

“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy calls for boycott of Newsweek until it apologizes for homophobic article

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/telebuddy/Copy%20of%20ryan%20murphy2.jpgRyan Murphy has good reason to be upset with the Newsweek article by Ramin Setoodeh who does not believe that openly gay actors including Sean Hayes and Glee cast member Jonathan Groff can play straight convincingly.

The writer, who is gay himself, wrote that Groff (pictured below with Glee and Spring Awakening co-star Lea Michele) seems like a “theater queen” on the popular Fox show.

Murphy takes Setoodeh, and the magazine itself, to task on several levels in a blistering open letter. Here is much of it:

This article is as misguided as it is shocking and hurtful. It shocks me because Mr. Setoodeh is himself gay. But what is the most shocking of all is that Newsweek went ahead and published such a blatant homophobic article in the first place…and has remained silent in the face of ongoing (and justified) criticism. Would the magazine have published an article where the author makes a thesis statement that minority actors should only be allowed and encouraged to play domestics? I think not.

Today, I have asked GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios to stand with me and others and ask for an immediate boycott of Newsweek magazine until an apology is issued to Sean Hayes and other brave out actors who were cruelly singled out in this damaging, needlessly cruel, and mind-blowingly bigoted piece. An apology should also be issued to all gay readers of the magazine…steelworkers, parents, accountants, doctors, etc…proud hardworking Americans who, if this article is to be believed, should only identify themselves as “queeny” people (a word used by Setoodeh in the article) who stand at the back of the bus and embrace an outdated decades old stereotype.

http://images.broadwayworld.com/upload/20454/20.JPGMr. Setoodeh has recently Twittered that he is a fan of Glee, the show I co-created with Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk…the show on which Mr. Groff plays the straight love interest to Lea Michele, a casting choice embraced by fans and critics alike which Mr. Setoodeh has taken issue with.

I extend an open invitation to Mr. Setoodeh to come to the writers room of our show, and perhaps pay a set visit. Hopefully then he can see how we take care to do a show about inclusiveness…a show that encourages all viewers no matter what their sexual orientation to go after their hopes and dreams and not be pigeonholed by dated and harmful rhetoric…rhetoric he sadly spews and believes in. Hopefully, some of the love we attempt to spread will rub off on Mr. Setoodeh — a gay man deeply in need of some education —  and he not only apologizes to those he has deeply offended but pauses before he picks up his poison pen again to work through the issues of his own self loathing. Give me a call, Ramin…I’d love to hear from you. I’ll even give you a free copy of our Madonna CD, on which we cover “Open Your Heart,” a song you should play in your house and car on repeat.

FILE UNDER: Controversy

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

8 Remarks

  1. LMAO!! Boy, Ryan Murphy just ripped Ramin Setoodeh three new ones!! LOL! I’ve gotta make some popcorn! This is really getting good!

    Poor Ramin; how does it feel to be singled-out, eh Setoodeh? Ramin, it’s truly a bad day when your own gay brothers don’t even want you – be a man and apologize. Time for you to make ‘nicey-nice’!

  2. May 11th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
    Marilyn from Canada says:

    I don’t get News Week but if I did I would boycott it for sure. What a jerk!

  3. Just like the writing in his shows, Murphy’s letter is so undisciplined and over the top that it’s difficult to take seriously. At least he’s consistent.

  4. kristin chenowith covered the territory far more effectively, but i am all for a cumulative pile on… until setoodah is drummed out of journalism.

  5. My only criticism of the article is that WE need to learn to use correct terminology if we want our points to be clear and to have impact. The Newsweek article isn’t really “homophobic.” Homophobia is an irrational FEAR of gays. Setoodeh’s article IS, however, heterosexist and heteronormative. How often do we hear anti-gay bigots defend themselves by saying something like, “I’m not afraid of gay people, I just think they’re behavior is wrong blah blah blah”? They need to be called out for what they REALLY are.

  6. @ A*Star: “The Newsweek article isn’t really “homophobic.” Homophobia is an irrational FEAR of gays.” -

    Setoodeh’s “review” reeks of veiled homophobia and self-loathing, perhaps issues Setoodeh should be discussing with a therapist, not publishing in Newsweek! I think the “homophobia” terminology is more than a fair description of trash like this.

  7. Freedom of speech mother ******…

  8. Freedom of Speech DITTOS !!!

Leave a Reply