It's been a very interesting week for the kids on So You Think You Can Dance. Monday it was announced that Top 10 contestant Jessica King was stepping down from the competition for medical reasons and that last week's eliminated hoofer Comfort Fedoke was being brought back in to replace her!  What?  That's crazy talk!  It was Tanya Harding in the green room with the lead pipe. I'm just sayin'...

Also on Monday, our very own Michael Jensen bombarded Executive Producer and Judge Nigel Lythgoe about the representation of gays on the show which may or may not have led to an on air shout-out to two gay choreographers. 

There's a ton to cover so let's jump right into Wednesday night's performance episode first.

The Host with the most, Ms. Cat Deeley (who was robbed of an Outstanding Host Emmy nod) starts things off by introducing Jessica King who tells us all that she broke two ribs and injured a third so she can't dance for at least 4 weeks but will be better in time for the tour.  Mind you, she's wearing the tightest eggroll of a dress and strutting across the stage with sass and ease which makes me wonder if she's faking it.  Can we get an investigative reporter on this?

For those of you that might be new to the show, once the competition hits the Top 10 things start to get a little more interesting.  Not only are the styles of dance chosen from a hat, but so are the couplings.  To add a little more drama to the show, starting this week each contestant will also be performing solos.  Right about now is when I need Debbie Allen to come in and do some inspirational speech about how this is where the kids start paying for fame ... in sweat!

This week's Judges: Lil C, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe

Courtney and Joshua rhumba me to sleep

Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen
First Routine: Hip-Hop by Dave Scott  How hilarious was it to see little adorable Courtney trying to pop while also trying to act like the Bride of Spankenstein?  Let me tell you, that was a surprisingly hot number!  Who knew necrophilia could be so sexy?  This was one of my favorite routines all season which I know I say a lot but this time I really mean it!  I've missed having Choreographer Dave Scott around, he's a genius.  I think this is the first time Joshua's been sexual at all on stage and it bothers me because I like to think of him as this little Teddy Bear.  Did you catch that crazy head knocking (check out the vid if you don't know what I'm talking about)?  It was banoodles!  Yes, banoodles is back!

Second Routine: Rhumba by Jean-Marc Generaux  Joshua brought the sexy in their first routine and this time around ... not so much.  The sexiest part of the routine was when Joshua got a face full of Courtney's Galiano.  Ms. Jackson if you're nasty!  Eh, this routine didn't do much for me.  Next...

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.