Over the weekend, at the urging of GLAAD, So You Think You Can Dance executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe issued an apology for his remarks to same-sex ballroom dancing couple Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kibel. If you missed it, watch the segment from Thursday’s premiere below. Please be sure to open your umbrella because it’s raining men.
Among Lythgoe’s comments to the partners: "I think you probably alienate a lot of our audience" and "I’d like to see you both dancing with a girl." Lythgoe then fueled the fire by reiterating his opinion via his Twitter feed after the premeire aired. "The same sex ballroom guys did remind me of Blades of Glory. However, I’m not a fan of Brokeback Ballroom." Please, universe, a ban on Brokeback Mountain jokes!
Reading through the comments on Adam Vary’s excellent SYTYCD TV Watch, I noticed a few people threatening to stop watching one of their favorite shows because Nigel Lythgoe is homophobic. Really? I don’t appreciate his presumption of how the audience would react — I’m pretty sure we’re all capable of forming an opinion of the couple (mine: "no thanks") all by ourselves. But I don’t think Lythgoe’s comments were overtly homophobic. He is a ballroom traditionalist who didn’t like the performance. And there’s no way I’d deprive myself of a televised dancing competition just because its feathery-haired overlord acted like a relentless nitwit. It certainly isn’t the first time he’s said something stupid on TV. I urge anyone who’s had it with Nigel to simply fast-forward whenever possible. (Conversely, I’ve found it enormously rewarding to employ the slow-motion effect when it’s time for Mia Michaels to cry. I’ll make a video sometime!)
What about you? Did Lythgoe’s comments sour you to So You Think You Can Dance? Or is everyone overreacting?
Comments (1-30) of 43 Add your comment
Everyone is absolutely overreacting. Whether you’re for or against gays, at least he was tactfully honest about the fact that a lot of viewers wouldn’t be okay with a male/male couple on there. He’s right, it is awkward to watch a full-on partner dance that way.
As a gay man, I didn’t find Nigel’s remarks homophobic. He just explained his problems with the performance really poorly, and in a way that could be easily misconstrued. Still, it’s not hard to figure out that his problems were with the technique and the weird role switching in the dance itself, and not with the sexuality of the contestants.
I thought his comments were poorly worded and didn’t convey what he was trying to say. I think Mary was the voice of reason on this one…talking about their role switching and such.
Enough with the overreacting….Nigel’s comments were right on and I think he was being too kind actually. He has said MUCH worse things to hetero dancers and these guys were not good at all…they only got screen time because the novelty of their act would make good tv (ie Blades of Glory). Lets remember that the judges almost always break up pairs during the tryouts (ie usually only the better dancer of the pair moves on). I thought that he was being kind by letting them try the choreography when their “pairs” debauchel fell apart…neither one of the guys could hang with the amazing dancers we saw coming out of Denver this year. I don’t need to see anymore of these stunts…just bring on the great dancers!
Nigel just has an awful way with words…I don’t think he meant to be offensive. (Though…really, I’m with Adam Vary… who does he think the audience IS for a dance competition show?) Those unitards were more offensive than anything Nigel’s ever said. Though I’m glad he issued an apology so that we can put this behind us and continue to enjoy the best (reality) show on TV.
yeah, this is overreaction. his words weren’t perfect, but the sentiment wasn’t one of homophobia. he ends up complimenting them. it’s just like saying they didn’t have good chemistry together dancing. There are certain roles played by each person in the dance and they just didn’t execute that.
personally, i think they just weren’t very good. the guys can dance together all they want and that’s fine by me. Just don’t be bad at it. although the fact that the one was promoting their two male “energies” dancing together annoyed me even more.
p.s. nigel needs a haircut.
Yeah, his comments weren’t that offensive…but it was odd when he said it would alienate the audience. Cause really, it’s not like gay people don’t watch the show and half the male contestants that have been on the show are obviously gay.
Yeah right you’re straight, Mitchel Kibel.
Definitely poorly worded. But he had to have known that the suggestion of trying to dance with girls because “you just might like it”, would be taken by many as offensive. The same way that contestants are berated with “haven’t you watched this show before? this is season 5!”, they should know by now what will get a negative response from the audience. Though the same sex dancers had potential, they would have to dance with female partners on the show. This was just a gimmick to make them more memorable.
I was less offended by Nigel’s remarks than I was the way that Fox chose to edit the audition. The musical selections were mocking and the light they were portrayed in made them out to be circus freaks.
I have to wonder who Nigel thinks is watching his competitive dance show though. Does he think a bunch of straight men sit in awe at SYTYCD’s displays of dancing prowess? Come on now.
i was less offended by nigel’s comments than by the way the duo were edited in the show. it’s raining men?? really?? just kinda tasteless.
Yes, straight people, please continue to tell how I should feel about how people talk about me. Especially today. Especially if you live in California. I’ll get over it.
Maybe “homophobic” isn’t exactly the right word. Still, I found his comments to be in poor taste (and this is hardly the first time). I’m not saying that the dancers in question deserved to make the show and I had no problem with any criticism of their dancing ability (of the 3 judges, I felt Mary Murphey was best able to stay on topic). My qualms lie more with the emphasis placed on heternormativity; the implication that only men can be decisive, “masculine” leaders, while women are relegated to the passive, “feminine” role of following; and Nigel’s assumption that the audience shares his antiquated beliefs. I doubt I’ll quit watching the show, but I honestly wouldn’t consider that an overreaction.
I admit, I was a little offended by Nigel’s comments (and I am gay man who’s a bit un-pc and not at all hypersensitive) – probably because as a longtime fan of the show, I’ve noticed that Nigel has occasionally said similar things before. To me, he just seems kind of overly fixated on making sure the male dancer dances in a masculine fashion.
I want to believe he is just ultra conservative in his views of ballroom dance and that these views aren’t deeper seated than that. But as he is rather poor at presenting himself sometimes, figuring out which is the truth can be difficult.
Why don’t they just come up with another word for gay marriage, because that’s what this is all about. Gays want equal rights but they refuse to have their partnership be called anything but marriage…but gay marriage is inherently different than heterosexual marriage. So why don’t we have civil unions that offer the exact same legal rights as marriage…end of story…no one has anything else to complain about and everyone is happy.
He may not have phrased his comments in the most sensitive or articulate way but I really don’t think they were coming from a homophobic place. The performance was in fact a little odd (from a technial ballroom perspective) so I think he was just trying to make that point. I was a little taken aback by the phrasing but I’m not going to stop watching because of him being inarticulate. My only question is why the show was edited to leave those comments in. Was there no one who said, ‘wait a minute…’? Anyway it’s my favorite reality competition so they would really have to say or do something horrible to make me stop watching.
I pray that God will take away the disease that is homosexuality.
In response to “putty”: I wish God would take away the disease that is hate & intolerance.
I agree with the sentiment here in that given Nigel’s area of expertise for almost his entire life, it’d be silly to honestly think he was homophobic (And boy did he go into the wrong line of work if that’s the case.)
I agree with Annie in that his presumption as to what the audience would think was more offensive, as was the demeaning way the segment was edited. Nigel simply likes a man to be masculine and a woman to be feminine in the context of dance…not necessarily in life.
Actually I think Nigel (halfwit that he can be) has a bit of a point. As for the editing by FOX, this is the same company that employs Bill O’Riley. ‘Nuff said.
Since WHEN do we have to APOLOGIZE to someone when we DON”T LIKE WHAT THEY DID???? Nigel was NOT out of line and should NEVER HAD ISSUED an apology!!!! These two idiots stunk and if I have to watch that kind of junk I WON”T be watching the show any longer.
I didn’t care for the handling of the situation; I’d rather that he focus on dancing skill. The editing of the sequence (as noted) was even more tasteless. It’s not enough to make me stop watching, but I hope they’ll improve.
it’s also the company that employs seth macfarlane. sooo ‘Nuff with that.
Exactly HOW is a homosexual marriage “inherently different” than a heterosexual marriage? Because the sex is not what you perceive as “regular”? How about a hetero marriage where the couple hasn’t had sex in years? Or the S & M couple who have sex in some REALLY different ways? Or the man (or woman) who beats their partner every night? I know this is not the forum, but ignorant comments need to be addressed. My feeling is what goes on in the bedroom of two consenting adults is NOBODY’S business.
First off, Nigel is Nigel. So you sort of know what rants you will get before the season even starts. His comments did seem meant to needle the guys and the show did portray them as cannon fodder even though they seemed to be mildly competent (but not great) dancers. So, maybe they weren’t treated nicely by the show because they were a same sex ballroom couple but I didn’t think it was egregious.
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In other news, NAPFS (National Association for the Protection of Fringe and Sequins) has called for a boycott of Dancing with the Stars due to the constant abuse endured by both fringe and sequins during each season.
Both Nygel Lythgoe and Simon Cowell seem to have an issue with gays on the shows (Nygel is the producer of both shows). Actually, I think their sexual orientations are in question. Perhaps they should look up the term “reaction formation”.
The Brokeback thing was too much…but what he said on the show was not against gays! He was commenting on the dancing and what he wanted to see!
I think they are overreacting!!
I was absolutely offended by the entire segment. To start it off with “It’s Raining Men,” portraying these guys as a joke before they even did anything. Then to say they would alienate their audience??? Newsflash: It’s 2009… I mean… Iowa legalized gay marriage for god sake…. IOWA!! I won’t act all ridiculous and say I’ll never watch this show again, because I have to agree that those Mia Michaels moments are totally worth it… but have I lost a lot of respect for both the judges and the producers… absolutely.
Another vote here for over-reacting. Nearly all of their comments were about either the dancing itself, or how it was unusual to see two men dancing together and hence harder to follow.