GQ Editor on 'Glee' Photo Shoot: 'They're Old Enough to Do What They Want'

GQ editor in chief Jim Nelson responded to a concerned Parents Television Council on the subject of his magazine's sexy 'Glee' photo shoot, telling The Insider: "The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy."

According to TMZ, the Parents Television Council said the magazine's photo shoot "borders on pedophilia," adding it is "disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on 'Glee' in this way."

GQ's Nelson responded without mincing words: "As often happens in Hollywood, these 'kids' are in their twenties. Cory Monteith is almost 30! I think they're old enough to do what they want."

In PopEater's recap of the photo shoot and article yesterday, we noted Dianna Agron's comment, "I've never been shot in so little clothing." We also noted she is 24 years old.
In Agron's blog, the actress apologized to all offended parties. "In the land of Madonna, Britney, Miley, Gossip Girl, other public figures and shows that have pushed the envelope and challenged the levels of comfort in their viewers and fans, we are not the first ... If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. And if your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?"

"For GQ, they asked us to play very heightened versions of our school characters. A 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' version. At the time, it wasn't my favorite idea, but I did not walk away. I must say, I am trying to live my life with a sharpie marker approach. You can't erase the strokes you've made, but each step is much bolder and more deliberate. I'm moving forward from this one, and after today, putting it to rest. I am only myself, I can only be me," she wrote.

Nonetheless, the PTC calls the Terry Richardson photo shoot "near-pornographic," adding, "The creators of ['Glee'] have established their intentions on the show's direction. And it isn't good for families."

Contrary to the PTC's concerns about the negative influence 'Glee' and the GQ piece will have on young viewers, 28-year-old high school dropout Cory Monteith is quoted in the article as saying, "The last thing I want to do is kind of imply to readers in high school that you too can drop out and be an actor and get on a big show and be famous and make a s***load of money."

'Glee' co-creator Ryan Murphy also tells the magazine that while he was skeptical of doing a sugarcoated family show, he knew responsibility would come into play. "I wanted to do my version of a family show. But we try to be as responsible as we can, because we know some young people watch."
source: popeater.com

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