Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee, has called for a boycott of Newsweek in an open letter released to EW.com in response to a controversial Newsweek article titled “Straight Jacket,†penned by Ramin Setoodeh. Setoodeh’s piece discussed gay actors playing straight characters, specifically calling out Promises, Promises star Sean Hayes for coming off as “wooden and insincere, like he’s trying to hide something, which of course he is,†as well as Glee star Jonathan Groff, an openly gay actor playing the straight love interest of Lea Michele’s character (Setoodeh wrote that Groff seems “more like your average theater queen†on the show).
Murphy’s response comes after actress Kristin Chenoweth — currently starring with Hayes in Promises, Promises — offered her outraged reaction to the article on Friday, in which she called it “horrendously homophobic†and stated that “no one needs to see a bigoted, factually inaccurate article that tells people who deviate from heterosexual norms that they can’t be open about who they are and still achieve their dreams.â€
Murphy’s open letter calls the article “as misguided as it is shocking and hurtful,†and he specifically criticizes Newsweek for publishing “such a blatantly homophobic article in the first place†and remaining “silent in the face of ongoing (and justified) criticism.†He goes on to write that he has “asked GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios to stand with [him]†in calling for an “immediate boycott†of the magazine until Newsweek offers an apology to Hayes and the other actors specifically mentioned in the piece, as well as to “all gay readers of the magazine.†He closes by inviting Setoodeh to Glee’s set to “see how [they] take care to do a show about inclusiveness.â€
Setoodeh, who is openly gay, has offered his own take on the controversy on Newsweek’s website, in which he describes the personal attacks he has received since his article was printed and writes that he intended to “start a dialogue†with the piece: “The point of my essay was not to disparage my own community, but to examine an issue that is being swept under the rug,†he writes.
’Glee’ creator Ryan Murphy pushes for ‘Newsweek’ boycott [PopWatch/EW]