#FOXFAIL: The network — and everyone else involved — needs to apologize. But who is going to make them?

Yesterday we posted an article titled How Fox Packaged Homophobia as Entertainment which examines exactly why last week's episode of So You Think You Can Dance was so blatantly homophobic and outrageous.

What you'll find in it is an analytical piece that breaks down step-by-step what the producers deliberately did in creating the segment that humiliated Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kibel, the same-sex dancers who appeared on the episode.

What you won't find in the piece is much emotion as it's a news article written to communicate a set of facts to the reader in as an unbiased fashion as possible. But that doesn't mean I wasn't feeling a great deal of emotion as I wrote the article. 

In fact, I was furious as I wrote every word. And you should be furious as you read every word.

I'm not sure I've ever been more angry over a single television program in my life.

Why was it so offensive? Because the network set out to deliberately make gay men appear ridiculous and as something dramatically different from "normal" viewers. This wasn't an off the cuff comment made in anger by Isaiah Washington. This wasn't a petulant actor who wouldn't play gay on Heroes because he was worried about his career.

This was the staff of an entire show using all of their skills to humiliate a same-sex couple by using every tool at their disposal. Every single aspect of the segment — the promotional teaser, the music chosen, the comments included, the footage shown — was carefully considered and calculated to provoke a specific reaction in the viewer whether it be laughter, discomfort or disgust.

And the folks at SYTYCD had Fox's blessing. 

And that outrages me in a way that's hard to describe. Not to engage in undue hyperbole, but that night, it felt as if Fox came into my house and spit in my face.

It's ironic that this transpired the same week the California Supreme Court upheld the passage of Propostion 8 which stripped gay and lesbian citizens of that state of the right to marry. Why should voters anywhere take our rights seriously when a corporation as huge as Fox tells them how alien, odd, and "other" we are. 

Yes, Nigel Lythgoe later apologized for some of his remarks and his tweets. But neither Lythgoe, who is the co-creator and an executive producer of the show, nor anyone of the other 30+ people involved, has even addressed the rest of the blatant homophobia displayed in creating the entire segment, much less apologized for it. 

Indeed, despite my repeated requests the network declined to provide anyone to answer any questions about the show at all. They don't think they have to. They don't think we can do anything about it.

Talk about arrogant. 

Unfortunately, they'll probably get away with it. After all, this happened over a week ago, which is a lifetime in the blogosphere. And Fox is counting on that. 

Unless gay people and our allies tell them they can't treat our community this way.

We can do that several ways. 

Here is the contact info for Fox that GLAAD provided when they demanded Lythgoe apologize. I say it's time to call them up and demand an apology for everything else they did.

Jason Clark
Vice President, Fox Publicity
Jason.clark@fox.com

Lindsay Luttrell
So You Think You can Dance
(323) 575-6100

Of course, the real way to get Fox's attention is to get the attention of those who sponsor their shows. Let's ask them if they really want to be associated with a show that thinks it's okay to single out a minority group for humiliation on network television under the guise of entertainment. You know damn well what the answer would be if this had been done to the African-American, Hispanic or Jewish communities.

So why should we let them do it to us? 

AfterElton.com contributor Ed Kennedy compiled this list of SYTYCD sponsors and their parent companies. I suggest readers get in touch with as many as possible to ask them if this sort of bigotry is what they wish to be associated with.

And here is the first way you can help. I gathered as many contact numbers as I had time, but we need folks to find the rest of the corporate emails and phone numbers for each of these sponsors. If you find the right contact and post in the comments, I'll add the information up here so other readers can help make the case. 

And the second way you can help is to spread the word via Twitter, Facebook and plain old email. If you use Twitter, be sure to include #FAILFOX in the tweet so we can keep track of everything.

But however you do it, be sure to let as many folks as possible know that we aren't going to stand by while a network packages homophobia as entertainment for the American public. Otherwise, we've really got no one to blame but ourselves. 

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE SPONSORS

Sponsor                                                      Parent Company

AT&T Wireless                                           AT&T
Main phone no. 908-221-2000

Lipton Sparkling Green Tea                       Unilever & Pepsico joint

Old Navy                                                     Gap, Inc
Phone number: (650) 952-4400
                                                                    Customer Service

Terminator Salvation                                  Warner Brothers

Toyota Prius                                                Toyota
Phone number: 1-800-331-4331

Aveeno/Listerine                                        Johnson & Johnson
732-524-0400
                                                                      Email here                          

Applebees                                                   IHOP
1 800 240 6055

Walmart                                                      Walmart
1-800-WM-ETHIC

Victoria’s Secret                                        Limited Brands
614-577-7111                                                 212-884-3000

L’Oreal/Maybelline                                     L’Oreal

Weight Watchers                                       Weight Watchers
212-589-2700

Altoids                                                        Wrigley
1-800-WRIGLEY
via email

Ford                                                             Ford

Hardees                                                      CKE Restaurants

Avon                                                           Avon

Visa                                                            Visa

The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3                    Columbia/MGM

Mazda                                                         Mazda

Verizon Wireless                                       Verizon

McDonalds                                                McDonalds

My Sister’s Keeper                                   New Line Cinema

Taco Bell                                                   YUM Brands/PepsiCo

Ritz Crackers                                            Kraft

Honda                                                        Honda

TJMaxx                                                     TJX Companies

Dogtown                                                    National Geographic/Fox

Wendy’s                                                    Wendy’s/Arby’s Group
(614) 764-3100, ext. 2032

Nair                                                           Church & Dwight Group

Sprint                                                        Sprint

Up!                                                           Disney/Pixar

Subway                                                    Doctor’s Associates

Hyundai                                                   Hyundai
(800) 633-5151

HP Laptops                                              HP
HP email

Payless                                                    Collective Brands, Inc
CustomerService@csr.payless.com    
1-877-474-6379

Coppertone                                              Schering-Plough Healthcare
866-288-3330

Macy’s                                                      Macy’s

Breyer’s Ice Cream                                  Unilever