My Gayest Look: Leno "Joke," Apology & Website

[orleans]

UPDATE!


The word from Leno: "In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."

Fantastic. That takes some guts. But will it last until the next easy assumption comes along?

Until then, we'll hold Jay's feet to the fire. Our response these past few days has been overwhelming, but we will post each and every pic that was submitted.

Gay people, and our supporters, are a wildly varied bunch. We are proud to continue showing them in their finest form on MyGayestLook. We're the gay community in all its variety -- as well our wonderful straight supporters. Who's who? Well, that's part of the fun.

So, back to the site:

On Thursday, March 20, 2008, Jay Leno welcomed as his guest on The Tonight Show the actor Ryan Phillippe, who, early in his career, played a gay character on the daily soap One Life to Live. During the interview, Leno hounded Phillippe, telling him to look into the camera, pretend it was his "gay lover…Billy Bob," who "has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming" (still milking the Brokeback jokes), and give it his "gayest look."


Jeff—who, in 2006, famously penned a letter to Jay Leno about his homophobic humor—completed another missive, in which he included a photographic sign-off (at left) of his "gayest look." Melissa—who was similarly agitated in 2006—then offered up her "gayest look" (also at left), and soon her readers began to send in their gayest looks—and an avalanche began. Simultaneously, writer Dan Savage suggested to Jeff that he collect people's "gayest looks," and that, folks, is called synchronicity. Forces were joined.

And while we're being a bit cheeky about all this, our message is dead serious: A 2005 study by GLSEN found that 90% of LGBTQ teens had been harassed or assaulted during the previous year. They were three times as likely as non-LGBTQ students to say that they do not feel safe at school and remain at increased risk for bullying, assault, and suicide. That doesn't happen in a void. Gay jokes are not harmless; they contribute to a culture in which institutionalized homophobia has tragic consequences. We want Jay Leno to know that we, LGBTQ people and their allies, are not amused.

So now it's your turn! Send us your "gayest look" for Jay here.

http://mygayestlook.com/

pictures at link

[kid a]

1. I'm lovin it!

I wouldn't fuck with this dude.