Chris Colfer plays gay high school student Kurt Hummel on the popular Fox comedy “Glee”. Colfer is also out and proud and has been open about it to the press, including in a recent interview with gay magazine The Advocate. He talked about being gay in matter-of-fact way, and apparently that freaked out Fox executives. The National Enquirer reports that Fox officials asked The Advocate to remove part of an interview with Colfer on their website in which he made a reference to being gay.

“Glee” star Chris Colfer’s slip of the lip during a recent interview sent show execs into a panic.

The 19-year-old actor… seemed to accidentally reveal his own sexual orientation while talking about the show in an interview.

When Chris was asked if he was “out” during his own high school years, he replied: “Oh, no. People are killed in my hometown for that!”

And while the disclosure – to “The Advocate,” a gay magazine – was no big deal for Chris, who was raised in Clovis, Calif., it was HUGE for studio execs.

“Fox wasn’t pleased,” an insider told The Enquirer. “They’re very protective of their young stars. And while the studio is pro-gay, they didn’t want Chris stamped with a ‘gay actor’ label so early in his career.

“They want him to be known simply as an ‘actor.’”

A rep from the studio asked the magazine to remove that part of the interview from the Advocate.com web site.

“The gay thing is not an issue for Chris at all,” the insider maintained.

“He hopes his character is an inspiration for gay kids everywhere. But both he and the studio want his personal life to stay under wraps.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 23, 2009]

This wasn’t the only time that Colfer has spoken to the press about being gay. He also talked about it in an interview with Access Hollywood a few weeks ago in which he answered a similar question about coming out. The interviewer asked him about his experience coming out as compared to his character’s (it’s at 2:30 in this video) and he said his parents were very accepting and that he had a “similar” experience to Kurt’s, but not the same.

The Advocate still has the part of the interview with Colfer on their website that Fox supposedly wanted removed. They also report in a follow-up that Colfer refused to talk about his sexuality in a subsequent interview with USA Today, and said something that seems to confirm that he was told to stop discussing it. “I try to keep up a mystery. As much as I give away of my personal life, the less people will believe me as other characters. I try to be private about it. It is what it is.”

It sounds like Fox executives had a talk with Colfer. It’s his decision whether he wants to talk about being gay or not, but you can’t blame him for doing what his bosses tell him to in order to keep his job. Fox isn’t doing him any favors by trying to keep him from being typecast or whatever they claim their motivation is. It’s nice to see a talented young actor who is comfortable talking about being gay and doesn’t consider it a big deal. If this is what happened, shame on Fox for telling Colfer to change his tune.

Spoilers for past Glee episodes below
As much as Fox seems short-sighted in this decision, I like how Glee is handling the plotline with Kurt. It was touching to see his manly dad stick up for him this week. The “coming out” episode, where the football team did “Single Ladies” dance, was just brilliant. It’s a great show with some compelling characters and they handle some sensitive issue with grace and humor.

Photos from Fox via IGN and The Advocate

This week’s Star has a profile of Matthew Morrison, who plays geeky but hunky Glee coach Will Schuester on Fox’s “Glee.” I love “Glee” and look forward to it every week. Morrison’s dreamy looks and infectious enthusiasm add to the appeal of a very solid and entertaining show. Now that “Glee” is a certified fan favorite, many outlets are focusing on Morrison, 30, who got his big break in the Broadway production of Hairspray. Radar Online has video of Matt taking it off while wearing a comically enhanced thong in a 2008 Broadway charity event, and Star has an interview with Morrison’s former drama teacher. His old teacher says Morrison is a great guy who recently performed at a school charity event. According to this guy, Morrison has a long distance girlfriend in Hawaii who he’s been with for a over a year, judging by the timeline given.

Matthew Morrison didn’t have to look far for inspiration when he landed the role of earnest and determined teacher Will Schuester on Glee, Fox’s breakout new series. The handsome actor simply channeled the mentor who honed his considerable talents – and set him on his path to showbiz stardom!

“He’s the motivator,” Matthew, 30, says of Ralph Opacic, founder and executive director of his alma mater, Orange County High School of the Arts. “Always optimistic. Never quitting.” And being the basis for Matthew’s character is an honor Ralph doesn’t take lightly. “I’m so proud of him,” Ralph tells Star in an exclusive interview…

After graduating from OCHSA in 1997, Matthew headed east and attended NYU for two years before landing a role in the Broadway production of Footloose. In late 2000, he took a break from musical theater to become a member of the boy band LMNT (pronounced “element”) A year later, they performed on a float during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC – but Matthew had had all he could take of the prefab foursome, and he left the group shortly after. “God, it was so embarassing,” he says today.

Matthew’s split paved the way for his starmaking vehicle on Broadway in 2002, when he landed the role of hunk Link Larkin in Hairspray. It’s been a wild ride since then, with an extended run on the daytime soap As the World Turns in 2006, and a celebrated turn back on Broadway two years later in South Pacific. Matthew was still with the classic musical when he landed his role on Glee.

He now lives in L.A. and see his Hawaii-based girlfriend whenever he has the chance. “They met while he was in South Pacific, and they’re crazy about each other,” Opacic tells Star. “Matthew and I are still really close. In fact, he performed at our annual OCHSA fund-raiser in March. He’s very supportive of the school and is always eager to give back. That’s just the type of wonderful guy he is!”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 2, 2009]

Very minor Glee spoiler below
The best part of this story is of course the shirtless pics I was able to find from Morrison’s June, 2008 stint on Broadway Bares. The guy is ripped. This week I was fantasizing about seeing him without his shirt while watching him do “Bust a Move,” so these photos are a very nice way for me to head into the weekend. Before he performed he started unbuttoning his dress shirt and I was momentarily fooled into thinking we’d get a glimpse, but he had on a t-shirt underneath. I know Glee is a family show and all, but it wouldn’t hurt to include a shirtless scene with Morrison. There’s got to be some flimsy excuse to have the guy strip down. Why didn’t he take off his shirt this week when he got the slushee bath? Producers missed a real opportunity there.

Here’s the stripping video, thanks to Radar. The audio is really loud and scratchy so you may want to turn it down.

And here’s Mr. Schuester doing “Bust a Move”

Photo credit: WENN.com.

There was news yesterday that NBC decided to uninvite the cast of fan favorite Fox show “Glee” from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. Apparently Macys officials invited the cast of Glee to perform, they were starting to get prepared for it, and then NBC pulled the plug before it could be made official. In a dig at the failing revival of Jay Leno’s talkshow, Glee creator Ryan Murphy said that he understood why they decided not to include his show in the parade, and quipped “I look forward to seeing a Jay Leno float.”

Glee creator Ryan Murphy says he gets why NBC asked Macy’s to pull the cast of his Fox show out of its Thanksgiving Day parade: “I completely understand NBC’s position, and look forward to seeing a Jay Leno float,” he told EW.com. Sources said yesterday that NBC asked parade organizers to rescind an offer for the cast of the musical comedy to appear in the annual holiday event, which the network broadcasts. While the parade has featured performers from rival networks’ properties in the past — such as American Idol singers or High School Musical actors — sources said featuring an entire cast would amount to too much promotion.

[From EW via TMZ]

“Glee” airs on Wednesday nights at 9pm against NBC’s “Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit.” I’m not that skilled at judging Nielsen ratings, but USA today and TVByTheNumbers have the ratings for last week for overall viewership and based on key demographic, and the only NBC shows in the top 25 are football broadcasts. Obviously their comedies and dramas are not scoring super high in the ratings, as great as “30 Rock” may be.

“Glee” is one of my favorite shows this season, and if you’re not watching it you should give it a try. If you’re in the US, you can view most of the past episodes for free on Hulu.com or on Fox.com. I recommend episode five, The Rhodes Not Taken, featuring a very skilled guest appearance by Kristen Chenoweth. Again, Glee airs Wednesday at 9pm and will leave you feeling much more uplifted than another formulaic episode of “Law and Order” – no offense to our Law and Order fans. (Kaiser) It looks like NBC just gave the competition much more publicity than they would have had from a float on the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

There’s also news of a live musical Glee tour that’s possibly in the works for next year.

Glee stills from Fox via IGN