I remember watching Ryan Phillippe's first role

[dsc]

He was Billy Douglass on One Life to Live. I am not much of soap fan but I did grow up on Y and R as my family was hugely into it. Soaps had lots of drama, lots of pretty people, but not a lot of diversity. Billy was the first gay teen on a soap. I was no longer a teen when it was on but I was a young teacher and Billy had a gay teacher as well. So I started taping the show when I heard about the storyline. I still remember, years later, how Billy described being gay was like being a superhero having to hide a secret. It was a brilliant analogy. So why bring this up, well, Leno didn't see that performance but years later he thought was great comic fodder. In the span of a few minutes he used this lovely performance to try to embarass Ryan who, to his credit, refused to play along. This isn't Jay's first trip on the anti gay turntable. A few years ago a gay comedian wrote a letter to Jay about his homophobic ways. At the time Jay was sorry and said he would do better. He says that again. I hope this time he means it.

http://www.afterelton.com/blog/snicks/ryan-phillippe-talks-to-jay-leno-manages-to-retain-dignity

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ryan+phillippe+one+life+to+live&search_type=

The first link is After Elton's coverage of the issue. Do watch the jeans ad too, it is very, very hot. The second link is youtube videos of Billy Douglass. Let's hope this is the last time Leno needs to be taken to task for his behavior.

[terrya]

1. I wish I had your optimism about Jay Leno

Jay Leno has this unfortunate habit of going for the cheap and easy laugh. And that homophobic crap that he pulled with Ryan Phillipe is but one more example.

Good for Ryan Phillipe for not going all with that crap. And good for him for accepting a role like Billy Douglass. I'm sure that a lot of gay and lesbian soap fans appreciated him doing that role.

[dsc]

2. Not only did he accept the role

but it was his first role ever on TV or in movies. It is his very first role listed on IMDB. For a year or so I was a huge OLTL fan. And have always had a warm spot in my heart for him ever since.

[closeupready]

3. Leno is perhaps uncomfortable with homosexuality because

maybe he has been taught that homosexuality is shameful? Or maybe something else? I don't know, but he does seem to find the topic of homosexuality entertaining, and always has. Bizarre.

Something puzzling about that.

[BillSam]

4. Leno is an ahole and he's not going to change

It's a year later and this crap is still going on:

http://jatgab.blogspot.com/2007/04/fg-jokes-go-on.html

Leno has a "house faggot," Ross the Intern, appear on the show who seems too stupid to understand that he's only there to deflect criticism of Leno as anti-gay (which he is) and to prove to the audience that all the gay stereotypes are valid.

[Chovexani]

5. Amen

Jay Leno is a homophobic pig and has been for a very long time. He led the charge on homophobic Brokeback Mountain jokes and was beating that dead horse long after the other late night hosts stopped. Jay has always had a problem with gays. I remember when he had the Queer Eye guys give him a makeover and he looked extremely uncomfortable with the whole thing.

I question anyone who think Leno is funny. I still say Letterman got screwed by NBC when Carson retired, and I can't wait until Conan O'Brien replaces Leno's unfunny ass. Conan is much funnier AND gay friendly to boot. There was a very hilarious skit he did a while back when the show spent a week in Canada, with Scott Thompson showing him around Toronto. At one point they went to City Hall and got "married" (it was a fake ceremony, but it was comedy gold). It wasn't meanspirited at all the way it was done, either.

[dsc]

6. I am not a late night person

but Leno does seem to get involved in this problem quite often.

[closeupready]

8. Yeah, over and over and OVER. Why is he obsessed with homosexuality?

??? These unfunny jokes about homosexuality have been an infrequent staple of his routine.

[dsc]

9. Leno doesn't appear to be funny in my book

I just would love to see the day we get treated like any other minority in this regard. Face it Leno would have been history long ago had this been any other group.

[mitchtv]

7. You mean he does something other than Clinton jokes?

I'm shocked

[NashVegas]

10. OLTL

I've watched that show forever. Around that time, they also did a really big storyline that ended up with parts of the AIDS quilt shown.

I was on r.a.t.s.a. on usenet at the time; a lot of the guys in the newsgroup were excited one day over a scene where a waiter at a restaurant was flirting with Billy. He had this "me? Is this guy flirting with ME?" look on his face that many of the ratsers very much identified with.