• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to
  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys
  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

Watch: Newsweek Writer Ramin Setoodeh Talks About Gays Playing Straight with Joy Behar; ‘Glee’ Creator Calls for Boycott

Andy Towle May 12, 2010

Ramin

Newsweek writer Ramin Setoodeh, who asserted in a recent Newsweek article that gay actors can't play straight roles, joined Joy Behar, Dan Savage, and Amanda Bearse last night, to discuss his piece.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP…

The article has angered many people and inspired furious responses from Kristen Chenoweth, Michael Urie, and Cheyenne Jackson. 

Yesterday, Glee creator Ryan Murphy called for a boycott of Newsweek magazine over the story:

“I would like to join my good friend Kristin Chenoweth on her condemnation of a recent Newsweek article written by Mr. Ramin Setoodeh, in which Setoodeh basically says that out gay actors should go back into the closet and never attempt to play straight characters. 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 blatantly 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…

Setoodeh wrote a follow-up piece for Newsweek, in which he said readers "missed the point":

"Over the weekend, I became the subject of a lot of vicious attacks. I received e-mails that said I will be fired, anonymous phone calls on my cell phone and a creepy letter at my home. Several blogs posted my picture, along with a link to my Twitter feed. People commented about my haircut, and that was only the beginning. I was compared to Ann Coulter and called an Uncle Tom. Someone described me as a "self-hating Arab" that should be writing about terrorism (I'm an American, born in Texas, of Iranian descent).

But what all this scrutiny seemed to miss was my essay's point: if an actor of the stature of George Clooney came out of the closet today, would we still accept him as a heterosexual leading man? It's hard to say, because no actor like that exists. I meant to open a debate—why is that? And what does it say about our notions about sexuality? For all the talk about progress in the gay community in Hollywood, has enough really changed? The answer seems obvious to me: no, it has not."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

Topics: Actor, News More Posts About: Dan Savage, Dan Savage, Joy Behar, Joy Behar, News, Playing Gay, Ramin Setoodeh

Related Posts
  • Where Is Barbara? Walters Pals CUT OUT Of Funeral Plans, Calling All Over NYC To Locate Her
  • ‘Gay bars are supposed to be a safe space’: Dan Savage on why LGBTQ community will now ‘fight until we’re safe everywhere’
  • Russia Blocks Facebook, Accusing it of Restricting Access to Russian Media;
  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    Published by AFP Beyonce, shown here attending the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, has the most chances at Grammy gold this year Los Angeles (AFP) – The brightest stars in pop music will vie for the …Read More »
  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    Published by Radar Online Mega Madonna‘s “greatest hits” would tour will be a family affair — with all of her six children joining her on the stage and off, RadarOnline.comhas learned. “Lourdes, David, Mercy, Stella, and …Read More »
  • Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Channing Tatum had to cover up a blemish on his bum for ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’. Make-up artists on the upcoming movie had to spend 20 minutes every day rubbing concealer …Read More »
  • Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Published by OK Magazine mega Fashionably too late? Lourdes Leon was stopped by security and not allowed inside a Marc Jacobs fashion show event on Thursday, February 2, after she showed up exactly as the show …Read More »
Previous Post: « Watch: Keith Olbermann and Michael Musto Discuss George Rekers
Next Post: Mistrial Declared in Brooklyn Hate Crime Trial of Keith Phoenix »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Trans nonbinary Broadway star withdraws from Tony consideration over gendered categories

    Trans nonbinary Broadway star withdraws from Tony consideration over gendered categories

  • How Orlando’s gay community, after Pulse, helped spur proposed changes to blood donor rules

    How Orlando’s gay community, after Pulse, helped spur proposed changes to blood donor rules

  • Fabiola Santiago: Of course lying George Santos has ties to Florida. It’s where truth ‘comes to die’

    Fabiola Santiago: Of course lying George Santos has ties to Florida. It’s where truth ‘comes to die’

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

    Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

    James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

  • Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

    Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

RSS Partner Links

  • George Santos Admits Lying To EVERYONE In Secret Recording
  • Melinda Dillon, A CHRISTMAS STORY Mom, Dies @ 83
  • “Lourdes Leon got blocked from entering the Marc Jacobs show” links
  • Princess Kate released another ‘Shaping Us’ video, this time with Roman Kemp
  • Real Fox News Or Just Some Made Up Bullsh*t?
  • OMG, WATCH: Doja Cat play ‘Smash or Pass’ with looks from the past!
  • Kim Kardashian Rocks Ripped Jeans For North West's Newest Basketball Game in LA

Most Recent

  • Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

    Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

  • Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

  • Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

  • Arriving Valentine’s Day: A Pair Of DC Comics Non-Binary Characters

    Arriving Valentine’s Day: A Pair Of DC Comics Non-Binary Characters

  • What is the #MascaraTrend and is it an adequate tool for free speech on TikTok?

    What is the #MascaraTrend and is it an adequate tool for free speech on TikTok?

  • ‘I don’t get canceled, really’: John Waters on his career, conservatives and taboos

    ‘I don’t get canceled, really’: John Waters on his career, conservatives and taboos

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×