The pile up against Newsweek
continues as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) jumps into the fray.
On Thursday, the nation's largest union
for working actors took a swipe at Newsweek for running a
story by openly gay contributor Ramin Setoodeh critical of gay actors
who take on straight roles.
“Unfortunately, harmful attitudes
like those of Setoodeh are used to pressure actors to stay in the
closet,” Jason Stuart, chair of the SAG National LGBT Actors
Committee, a group that supports openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender actors, said in a statement.
In the feature, titled Straight
Jacket, which appeared on the weekly's website on April 26,
Setoodeh cuts into Sean Hayes'
portrayal of straight man Chuck in the Broadway revival of Promises,
Promises: “He comes off as
wooden and insincere, like he's trying to hide something, which of
course he is.” Hayes, who recently came
out gay on the cover of gay glossy The
Advocate, has been nominated
for a
Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award for his Broadway debut.
Setoodeh
also takes aim at Jonathan Groff's performance on Fox's musical
comedy hit Glee,
saying he's “so distracting, I'm starting to wonder if Groff's
character on the show is supposed to be secretly gay.”
“Intentional
or not, Ramin Setoodeh's wrongheaded argument sends a damaging and
false message that we are limited in the roles we are able to play,”
Stuart added.
Openly
gay Mad Men co-star
Bryan
Batt said the piece “saddened” him, adding that “gay actors
have been playing straight since Euripides.”
Earlier
in the week, the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Defamation (GLAAD) joined openly gay Glee
creator Ryan Murphy in urging Newsweek
to apologize. Murphy
asked fans to dump Newsweek
until an apology is at hand, and demanded the weekly apologize to
Hayes and other “brave out actors who were cruelly singled out in
his damaging, needlessly cruel, and mind-blowingly bigoted piece.”