Nigel Lythgoe says he doesn't have a problem with gay men, just effeminate dancers

Nigel Lythgoe (Photo Credit: Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)

For some gay fans of Fox competitive reality shows American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance there has long been a whiff of intolerance floating over both shows. Why? Neither has ever had an out gay contestant during their actual competitions (as opposed to the UK and Australian versions). In fact, when Jim Verraros' Livejournal blog entries discussing his being gay were discovered while he was on AI during its first season, they suddenly disappeared. Additionally, somewhat frequent homophobic comments from judges, hosts and contestants occur on both shows.

At yesterday's TCA I got a chance to ask Nigel Lythgoe, one of the judges on SYTYCD and an executive producer on American Idol, about why neither show has ever had an out gay contestant.

AfterElton.com: What’s your response to the criticism that neither American Idol nor So You Think You Can Dance has ever included any out gay contestants?
Nigel Lythgoe: You mean homosexual guys who have come out? We’ve never thought about it, to be honest. I don’t actually go around and say, "Excuse me are you gay or are you straight?" It isn’t a question that we ask.

AE But it would come up.
NL: No it wouldn’t. I’m never worried if anybody’s gay. What I don’t like on the dance show, to be frank, is effeminate boys that mince around the stage. I don’t care if they’re gay or straight. That’s got nothing to do with it for me.

AE: Why don’t you like the effeminate [dancers]?
NL: Because they need to be very strong. Dancing is role-playing most of the time. And you need to be strong and lift girls. You need to look stronger than the girl you’re dancing with. You control the dance, especially in ballroom. So if you mince about the stage, you’re not doing what the choreographer is asking you to do. He’s asking you to be strong. If your choreographer then wants to do an effeminate routine, then that’s fine, but most of the time we don’t do effeminate routines so straight or gay doesn’t come into it for me.

You'll note I didn't ask Lythgoe if he asks folks whether they're or gay not. I asked why neither show has never had any out contestants.

I see a couple of odd things here. Nigel seems to be confusing effeminate with weak and as many a drag queen can tell you, there isn't anything weak about many drag queens. As well, I've met plenty of effeminate large men who could mambo Nigel across the dance floor until he dropped.

And despite Nigel's belief that a contestant's sexuality doesn't come up on his shows, us gay folks know that of course it comes up all the time. It's just that with straight people, they don't realize they are doing it. It's called heterosexual privilege and any time we point it out, we're being "difficult" and "politically correct". Anyone who watches these shows know that we frequently see straight folks' husbands, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends — telling us they are straight. Personal stuff about gay folks? Not so much.

A perfect example of this recently occurred on NBC's American Gladiators which featured Sean Hetherington as their first out contestant. But when the producers showed Sean's boyfriend seated with another friend, the caption simply identified them as "Sean's friends". Nor did we learn Sean was gay via any of his on-camera interviews or other interactions. I'm sure the producers didn't care that Sean was gay, but funny how that bit of info got whitewashed out.

And taking Nigel at his word that he isn't worried about anyone being gay, the issue still remains why there has never been any out gay contestants on these shows. I'm certain Nigel would say he isn't racist as well, but if his shows had no Black, Hispanic or Asian contestants, you can bet folks would be asking questions.