GQ Editor on 'Glee' Photo Shoot: 'They're Old Enough to Do What They Want'

By Zach Dionne Posted Oct 20th 2010 05:18PM

GQ editor in chief Jim Nelson responded to a concerned Parents Television Council on the subject of his magazine's sexy 'Glee' photo shoot, telling The Insider: "The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy."

According to TMZ, the Parents Television Council said the magazine's photo shoot "borders on pedophilia," adding it is "disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on 'Glee' in this way."

GQ's Nelson responded without mincing words: "As often happens in Hollywood, these 'kids' are in their twenties. Cory Monteith is almost 30! I think they're old enough to do what they want."

In PopEater's recap of the photo shoot and article yesterday, we noted Dianna Agron's comment, "I've never been shot in so little clothing." We also noted she is 24 years old.

In Agron's blog, the actress apologized to all offended parties. "In the land of Madonna, Britney, Miley, Gossip Girl, other public figures and shows that have pushed the envelope and challenged the levels of comfort in their viewers and fans, we are not the first ... If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. And if your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?"

"For GQ, they asked us to play very heightened versions of our school characters. A 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' version. At the time, it wasn't my favorite idea, but I did not walk away. I must say, I am trying to live my life with a sharpie marker approach. You can't erase the strokes you've made, but each step is much bolder and more deliberate. I'm moving forward from this one, and after today, putting it to rest. I am only myself, I can only be me," she wrote.

Nonetheless, the PTC calls the Terry Richardson photo shoot "near-pornographic," adding, "The creators of ['Glee'] have established their intentions on the show's direction. And it isn't good for families."

On The Street: We Ask New Yorkers If They Think the 'Glee' Kids Went Too Far:

Contrary to the PTC's concerns about the negative influence 'Glee' and the GQ piece will have on young viewers, 28-year-old high school dropout Cory Monteith is quoted in the article as saying, "The last thing I want to do is kind of imply to readers in high school that you too can drop out and be an actor and get on a big show and be famous and make a s***load of money."

'Glee' co-creator Ryan Murphy also tells the magazine that while he was skeptical of doing a sugarcoated family show, he knew responsibility would come into play. "I wanted to do my version of a family show. But we try to be as responsible as we can, because we know some young people watch."

Pics Go Too Far? Tell us on Facebook

Tags: Glee, GQ, Parents Television Council

Comments

(301)

Thursday 21 October

By John

Vote down Vote up Report this

The PTC are a bunch of old prudes, who have somehow got the totally wrong idea, that they are responsible for setting the standards of morality. They need to grow up, and get in touch with the "real" world, as it exist "today"! There is nothing wrong with a woman's body, and dressing sexy. They are not participating in any lewd acts or acting improperly in any fashion. I say "Down with the PTC"! It would nice if the public wouldn't acknowledge the organization any longer.

By Ron in NY

I agree. Let's ignore BOTH members!

By Mike

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

28 year old high school dropout making s**t loads of money. now that's a role model everyone can be proud of. Only in America.

By TEENAMARIE

ifeel so insult,can you live a nice show nice ,no you made it so sleezy and cheap no more gq for me and no more glee i'm sorry for you .

By Odin

What is "near pornographic"? I always thought that pronography was pictures of naked people. Looks to me like everybody has their cloths on.Hmmmm,I think that the Parents Television Council needs to find something better to do. Maybe parenting their children them selves instead of relying on the school system, the media, Daycare, or the mall. Yes i said the mall, Which is not daycare for teens. Anyone who has ever worked in a mall knows exactally what i am talking about.

By taatiita

who the hell cares if they are 30 40 or 50..if they are going to play steady roles of HS students then shoot pornographic pix like these, then it's time to kick them out. duhh we know they are adults who can do what they want with their lives. but if they want to keep the ratings which was obviously given to them by HS students who predominately their biggest fans then they need to get with the program. they should keep their image clean till their roles end on Glee. u don't need to be a HS graduate to know that.....gagggg

By Diane Robertson

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

I'm in total agreement with Amy, Ben Allaway and others. Tweens and Teens will have access to this and acquire it rather easily outside of seeing the Magazine itself. It doesn't matter how old the actors are, they have an audience. They are your nieces and nephews, daughters and sons, neighbors kids etc. I totally love this show but the actors should have been more conscientious and thought this thoroughly through before making the decision. It will be affective one way or another regardless of what we think.

By Carolinka

I agree that this pictorial seems a little over the top for the show. I am so impressed by the voices these players have, the show is like a weekly musical in a time when radio does not play much music that is about harmony, range and lyrics. There are adult/teen themes explored each week, so I think parents need to exercise some judgement with younger kids. GQ is a men's magazine, so they have taken these actresses to a place that doesn't fit. I love that the male actor is shown, casually dressed,playing drums, but the two females are depicted in some male fantasy, cheerleader in red stilettos, little teeny bopper licking a lollipop. How predictable! It's a shame that these two singers can not just be celebrated for their extraordinary and beautiful voices. Perhaps their agents need to do their job, not pad their pockets.

By Nicole

It's GQ , not TEEN Beat !

By Rick

I think if you are letting your kids watch a t.v. show that has 30 year-olds playing teenagers, this magazine shouldn't be your main concern.

Could it be that real teenagers are not mature enough to interpret some of these roles? Acting is more than learning your lines and trying not to bump into the furniture, as Spencer Tracy once suggested.

By Sammy

People get way too uptight over anything sexual anymore. Sure, if it's Miley Cyrus (who is 17) again, I understand getting upset over sexualizing underage teens. But 20-somethings? I think they're allowed to be sexy if they want to...If a man finds the pictures sexy, he's not a pedophile, since they are not kids.

By thart468

Excuse me but I didn't have to pick up a copy of GQ to find out about this photoshoot and see some of the photos. I'm quite sure that my pre-teen and teenage girls will hear about this either through their own internet browsing--this article is on AOL's home page--or their friends internet browing. They don't need to see all the photos in the magazine to get the message that you get alot of attention when you are really out there with your sexuality. The problem is it is not all good attention.

By JLH

Look - the photo shoot is only considered inappropriate if your young kids are watching Glee. If Glee was for teens, it would be on Disney or Nick teen - but its not. It is prime time tv with a cast of 20 somethings.

If parents think Glee is a kid's show, they are seriously screwed up. PG 13 movies are mostly inappropriate for kids, yet I see adults bringing in their 7 and 8 year olds. The bottom line is that parents are selfish - they want to watch this garbage and don't have enough restraint or maturity to DVR it and watch while the kids are at school or get a sitter and see the movies they want to see. Much easier to just drag your kid into it and force feed them garbage from our pop culture. No wonder 14 year old girls look and act and do the things 18 year olds do. Keep your kids in their youth as long as possible - there is lots of time ahead for all of the adult issues and drama we all suffer the rest of our life.

Bad parenting is going to lead to lots of problems in this country - wake up, America!

By wally

The reality of it all is that parents really don't want to remember what high school was all about, or they don't know what their kids are really all about.

By ccme

You are all missing the point. These actresses are in their underware in a school setting. This shoot sexulizes teenage high school girls. The girls are old enough to be in the pictures but why is the setting a high school when they are clearly not in high school? Next time old men are leering at your teenage daughter remember this GQ shoot.

By Hello stop sexualizing our youth

Is there anything anymore that is not sexualized? These stars are part of a show that is directed toward families.. My 13 year old should not have to see ALL of her favorite stars dressed in playboy playmate outfits and poses... Is it possible that stars and producers/photographers should think about the audiences that will see these photos? Maybe we could tone it down a little and our teenagers will realize not everything is not about sex; how hot you are; or how many pieces of clothing we should take off! I may stop watching the show if they keep getting more and more sexualized (such as the Britney spears episode). For the love of God have some respect for your viewers, and society!!!!

By KLAW

I do not watch the show,I hear enough about it tho.
I dont care how OLD they are,they chose to portray teenagers and that is how they should act.
I do not approve of the pictures at all.

By Lauren

GIVE ME A BREAK! This show is NOT on nickelodeon or disney channel. It is NOT catering to children. It has a rating that pops up before each episode. Parents need to realize that the creator of this show OR the actors aren't doing a bad thing. I don't want them to dumb this show down. I love it.

By disgustedperson

Are they serious? The people from Glee have more clothes on than any people at the beach!! Have those people been to a beach lately? I think they might need a reality check. Look around, people walk around in public with alot less clothing and more provocative than this photo shoot! I'm a grandmother and I don't take offense to this at all. Who are these people anyway, that try to sit in judgement of everyone else? Are they from the 18th century? Must be.

Page 7 of 16