Jeff Whitty, Rest of Internet Show Jay Leno Their Gayest Looks

Jeff Whitty, the playwright who penned Avenue Q, has about had it with Jay Leno.  He and approximately half the internet are striking back against homophobic humor in a very amusing way.  Follow me, betches, for a full explanation and links galore, after the jump.

So, way back in 2006, Mr. Whitty wrote a letter to Mr. Leno to ask him to please stop with the unfunny gay jokes.  He said that while to Jay Leno, gay people "are great material," for Whitty himself, gayness is all too often about being oppressed, objectified, and hated, and it is about being brave in the face of that.  He pointed out that Jay Leno has a huge audience and a lot of influence, and that he's a better man than to make jokes at the expense of gay folks.  He signed off with, "You've got to cut it out, Jay." 

Whitty found himself on CNN, and then on the phone with Jay Leno in what he called "a good and feisty chat."  They didn't agree on much, apparently, other than "comedy is tough."  Whitty moved on with his life.

Then, after Ryan Phillippe's recent appearance on Leno, during which Jay asked a very uncomfortable Ryan to give the camera his "gayest look" (Ryan was to pretend that the camera was his "gay lover" who had "just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming," because apparently we, as a country, are not yet over Brokeback Mountain jokes), Whitty wrote him again, sharing with Jay his own "gayest look," pictured above.

Enter bloggus awesomus Melissa from Shakesville.  (Do you read Shakesville?  Read Shakesville.  Shakesville is the jam.)  She linked to Jeff Whitty's latest letter and shared her own gayest look.  She asked fellow Shakers to contribute theirs.  They did.

This one is my personal favorite:

And speaking of babies, the response has been so awesome that a new website has been born.  Check it out, enjoy the gayness, and maybe get gay for the camera yourself.  (Scandal!)

(Hat tip to the eagle-eyed - and gay, as you can see in her photo - Meaghan, of MamaPop comment threads fame, for alerting me to this story as I was convalescing and spending an unprecedented seven full hours away from the internet yesterday.)

 

Comments

[kdiddy]

I was looking at this yesterday and love it SO MUCH. Not only is Jay Leno a homophobe, he is entirely unfunny. Yes, yes, comedy is tough...especially when UR DOING IT WRONG.

[BaltimoreGal]

Yeah, like I said on MamaPopTalk, good one on Ryan Philippe for not going along with this ridiculousness. I mean, it's there's so many things that you can talk to an actor like Ryan Philippe about (He's in a movie and has been one with Angelina Jolie! He supports Obama! He was in Crash!) but instead you have to be a lazy ass and take cheap shots, relying completely on video clips and tired (and prejudiced) gags and premises to make an interview.

Jay Leno's NEVER funny. That doesn't mean he has to be cruel.

[Heeeerrrreeee's Why I Don't Watch Leno]

After Johnny Carson left, no more Tonight Show for me.

[Mae]

Personally...Jay Leno...annoys the holy heck outta me. I do not find him funny, I find him annoying! He doesn't just BORDER on rude, he IS rude.

[BaltimoreGal]

I submitted my look! This did make me furious and now I feel better- a little better anyway.

[robin]

This was simple over reaction. Jay wasn't coming out of nowhere with his attempt to be funny, it was natural in the line of dialog. People going apeshit about stuff like this has to stop.

[Meaghan]

Hey Robin,

People dismissing the feelings of an oppressed group has got to stop.

Ignorance is not bliss, mmkay? It's tragic and dangerous.