Nigel Lythgoe tweets he's "not a fan of 'Brokeback Dancing'." Or, apparently, self-awareness.

I'm just gonna assume he had a traumatic dance experience that involved another man, because obviously what he saw on the show has really hit a nerve.

that he thinks he was the most accepting judge on the panel.

I`m seriously considering not to watch this show from now on,although I was a huge fan since day 1.(I didn`t miss one episode since the very beginning of season 1)

So what exactly was so 'brokeback' about it...I didn't catch any cowboy hats etc.... That comment just made it that much worse.

Nigel isn't particularly the most masculine of guys anyway...what's up with the hair? And I'm sure he isn't that much of a hit with the ladies either. Nah, he's pretty much a stain on all things British! You yanks can have him :p.

If you go to the Fox Television website, you will find a tab on the bottom that says "diversity". Click and you will find what appears to be a "diversity mission statement" when it comes to their business practices. It reads:

"We believe our future rests in our collective ability to embrace change and leverage diversity through our leadership, production, employment, procurement and continued community support. We believe that diversity is critical to our business strategy, and will improve our competitiveness and prospects for long-term success."

Apparantly Nigel is exempt from the "collective ability to embrace change" part. 

I cannot find the e-mail address for FOX Chairman & CEO, Peter Chernin. It isn't on the site. I think it would be a great idea to bombard him with e-mails regarding the disconnect between their warm and fuzzy diversity statement and Nigel's comments. Anyone have a membership to IMDBpro? I am sure his contact info is listed there.

Not only am I never watching SYTYCD again, I'm not watching anything Nigel Lithgow touches.

he also said on his page he is not a homophobe, but doesnt like effeminate dancing.

IF THAT WERE THE CASE.....why bring up brokeback mountain? what was that movie about? 2 men in love. what do people usually mean when they reference 'brokeback'?

GAY. gay anything.

another thing....jack and ennis were not 'feminine'.....so how does brokeback + effeminate dancing make any sense?

what's that? it doesn't? AH, didn't think so. the man needs to sit down and shut up.

How can we tag this like #amazonfail?  how does that work?  (new to twitter)

I'm not a fan of celebrities paying any attention at all to what being said about them "on the web." However, if you're going to talk about it, don't say things like "I hear." How out of touch does that sound? All you have to do is turn on a computer at this point and you're connected to 95% of this kind of content, and the stuff you have to pay for probably isn't talking about Nigel's opinions, though I'm sure there's a site out there dedicated to his "assets."

Anyway, he also doesn't get what "the web" means now. When someone is talking about getting a beating "on the web," he's talking about message boards and other user created content.

AfterElton/AfterEllen is quickly becoming the source of record for gay and lesbian media news. This isn't some collection of socially maladjusted youths with a keyboard and too much Coca-Cola coursing through their veins. It's a legitimate media endeavour with at least enough moxie to believe that when it puts a call into Fox, it's going to get a call back. It's correspondents regularly are invited to major network and studio events. Though I'm sure at least some on staff are socially maladjusted; I just hope they aren't the ones with too much Coca-Cola coursing through their veins.

For that matter Towleroad and Pam's House Blend (which I don't believe has weighed in on this) are important voices in new media and the LGBT community. Dismissing these sources as "on the web," if that's what Lithgoe is doing, is not just mean spirited, but unwise.

And, come on, he's advocating masculine dancing from a Twitter account named "dizzyfeet?"

You know for once, just once, I'd like one of these self-absorbed, media arseholes to show a bit of self-awareness, to grow up, stop looking at themselves in the mirror or even just show enough spine long enough to hold up their hands and say, 'I'm sorry, I realise what I said was wrong, it's offended people, please accept my apology.'  And mean it into the bargain, not be forced into it by some PR department, or claim what they said was taken out of context.

But I see Lithgoe's not man enough to do that.

have inspired my latest FaBlog posting

 

http://fablog.ehrensteinland.com/2009/05/22/dancing-is-a-queers-game/

 

He's updated again, blaming the controversy for people not talking about a dancer they found last night.  He doesn't seem to get that he is the controversy.  GLAAD issued an action alert with phone numbers and email addresses (thanks, Lyle!), and I've sent two emails at this point. 

It's a shame he's taken his homophobia to a new level - the show has been a guilty pleasure of mine, because some of the dancers are truly beautiful to watch, but I can't support a show like this.  It's sitting unwatched on my DVR, and will continue to do so until Nigel or Fox says something right.

Someone who has the show on DVR should make a quick list of the show's advertisers.  Then, particularly, those who have been fans of this show in the past, but feel outraged, should politely call or write the show's advertisers.  Say what you say here: that you've been a faithful fan in the past and you really want to like the show, but this open bigotry will make you, your friends, and your family stop watching.  Tell the advertiser that you really like their product, and you know that the advertsier did not create the bigoted content on the show, but you like to do business with responsible companies and that you hope that, like you, the advertiser will consider whether they want to continue doing busines swith a show that's going down this path.  Believe me, once an advertiser starts getting calls and emails on this, they'll let the network know. And then the network starts calling the show.  And Nigel Lythgoe gets an earful he can't Twitter away.

It's one of the ways to get a quick response and resolution from the network and the show.  This show is a particularly ripe target for such action having an immediate effect, as advertisers are going to be well aware of the demographics for a dance competition show, and you can bet they've factored in same-sex couples as a desirable demographic in that audience (And one perceived, fairly or not, as having more disposable income). The advertisers are going to be seriously wondering why the show has needlessly provoked this desirable segment of their audience to the point where they're actually taking the time to write those advertisers.

If you'd like to see Nigel Lythgoe and his show apologize and STFU on this subject forever, hit 'em where it scares 'em and where it hurts: through the folks who help pay the bills.

Me: "You're both"

These comments remind me just how closely tied together gay rights and women's rights are.  I didn't watch the show, but what is wrong with being effeminate?  Is being woman-like such a bad thing?  It seems he doesn't believe any man lowering himself to be the girl (that horrible position) is worthwhile. 

This and my disdain for the gay-baiting and homophobia on American Idol this year (I know it's always been there) has me wondering.  Besides giving us Olivia, Adam, Clay, Waylan Smithers and lots of other wonderful eye candy--has Fox done anything to promote the image of gays (men and women) in America's consciousness?  I can think of lots of instances of homophobia--but there has to be something positive I'm missing, right?