Glee star Lea Michele is experiencing more growing pains after posing for the March cover of Cosmo in a little black dress with a wide neckline that plunges to her belly button. FoxNews.com interviewed a mother who claims her 12-year-old son was “confused and offended” by Michele, who plays Glee‘s good girl Rachel, posing this way next to a cover line that says she has “naughty secrets.” Cosmo publisher Hearst is using the same defense GQ did last year: “Michele is a grown woman and Cosmopolitan is a magazine for adults.”
I haven’t seen the inside shots, but assuming they’re not showing her frolicking in a high school locker room or hallway in this ensemble (which forces the connection between her and her character), I don’t have a problem with this shoot. For both the reasons Hearst offered and the fact that Cosmo is a magazine for adult women. This photo shoot feels more like Michele choosing to “sex up” her image for herself, not for men — which does make a difference to me, whether or not it should.
There are two other issues here that I find more interesting: FoxNews quotes Cult of Celebrity author Cooper Lawrence as saying, “Lea Michele may be an adult, but to pretend that she doesn’t know her fans are 11 is just ignorance…. Now she is just turning off the parents of these kids who are her future consumers.” I know Glee has a lot of young fans, but let’s not pretend they’re all tweens (or even teens). That aside, I hadn’t thought about the parents of young Glee fans becoming “offended” enough by its stars’ efforts to break out of their typecasting that they might stop footing the bill for their children’s Glee iTunes purchases. I’m not a parent: Could a magazine shoot really do that?
Secondly, this dress on Michele isn’t anywhere as drastic as the gown Olivia Wilde is wearing on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue, but the just-have-enough-material-to-cover-the-nipples design is a theme in both. In a poll last week, women found these suspender-bodice gowns to be “annoying” 15-1. (Not surprisingly, men found them to be “sexy” 2-1.)
So, is this Cosmo shoot different from GQ‘s because it’s not set in a high school? Is it okay for Glee actresses to look or talk naughty when they’re clearly promoting themselves?
More ‘Glee’ and Lea Michele:
Super Bowl’s double dose of diva: Xtina vs. Lea. One flubbed her lines, but who was better?
‘Glee’ post-Super Bowl episode recap: Suclear Warfare
I’m betting “confused and offending” isn’t REALLY how this kid was feeling.
oops, “offended.”
Right! His real reaction to it probably made his MOM feel confused and offended.
haha@chacha
LOL! Good one.
Mom, I think confused means GAY. Why is he reading Cosmo? Does he get confused by other covers. Lea did not make him gay.
LOL@chacha
Or perhaps her son had his first bonner while seeing Lea on the cover and his mother was very offended because his pants look like a tent.
I thought the same thing.
That was my thought. I mean, he’s 12. I’m thinking ‘mesmerized’ may be more like it.
“Mesmerized”? Really, the last thing i am is mesmerized when i look at her. She is not attractive at all and i don’t understand all the hype around her…
Don’t worry Jackie.. I’m sure you’re much hotter and more successful.
umm Jackie, Lucy was talking about the 12yr old boy. what YOUR opinion is of Michelle isnt relevant. here’s $5 bucks, go buy a clue.
I showed it to my 13 year old son and he was definately not confused or offended.
I think the little boy just about popped his cherry seeing that magazine cover.
that mom is in denial, he is using the lock on the bathroom door for sure
so… her son 12 year old son is reading cosmo? and her biggest worry is how lea michelle’s shirt shows a little too much skin?
let me repeat that… her 12 YEAR OLD SON, is reading cosmo… and this is her worry? smh
anthony – and he watches Glee.
…and then locks himself in the bathroom after the show!
If the mother gets offered the Cosmo cover, I’m sure she’s ready to do with just a bra. Hypocritical much?
And why is her son doing with a Cosmo anyway. Maybe he is a ‘princess boy’ in the making, who knows? That’s what she should focus on.
For a 12-year old – not the brightest crayon in the box now is he
I agree with pretty much everything said. He’s a 12 yo boy in 2011, I’m sure he’s well aware about sex (if he’s a Glee fan how can he not be?). And if his mother is buying her son a magazine that boasts “How to Give the Perfect Hand Job” Ms. Michele’s wide neckline is the least of her worries. Glee is just as inappropriate for children as Cosmo is. Just cause there’s song and dance doesn’t mean its a kids show.
she needs to grow some tits to be naughty,she is so utterly annoying on the show. She needs to get banged out by Snooki and her magic pickles. Now thats an issue worth GRABBING!
What is so offensive about “naughty secrets”? That you once stole a cookie from a cookie jar also counts as a “naughty secret”.
It doesn’t have to be about sex – and if the kid thinks it is, then that is his problem, isn’t it?
Sure, if you’re reading Highlights…Except this is Cosmo.
It’s not just that this kid watches Glee or looks at risque magazine covers in the supermarket–it’s that the expectations for this generation are at a ridiculous low–we expect our children and young teens to not only accept, but be involved in sex (and drugs, etc.) at increasingly low ages, or at least to be desensitized to it. We as adults have become desensitized–is that really a thing to be proud of?
However, parents DEFINITELY need to take better care of what their young children watch. Glee? For a 12 year old? That really is kind of insane. And yes, Michele is an adult woman. People (including parents and even marketing) need to realize that it just isn’t appropriate for young kids to watch Glee.
That was my thought EXACTLY! Our country is exceptionally prude sometimes. Much ado about nothing FOR SURE!
Now I have found the synonymy of “hot and bothered.”
When I was 11, I saw Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2, and all I was wishing for was to see her naked. I don’t think her little boy was offended and confused unless he was confused about his future sexual preference.
to quote “Mean Girls”:
“did you see nipple?? It only counts if you saw nipple.”
how about Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Frollo: Look at that disgusting display.
Phoebus (intrigued): Yes sir!
lolz
He was “confused and offended” because usually Cosmo cover cleavage is D-level for him to pretend to motorboat while he locks himself in the bathroom.
Mother” “What’s that noise… are you whisking eggs for an omelette in there?”
And really. She is about as sexy as Mel Gibson. There is no cleavage there. (Not that she isn’t lovely).
There were many like myself were weren’t offended by the last cover because of the children, it was because it was sexist and demeaning. This one appears tasteful and becoming
How much do you want to bet the term ‘going blind’ was mentioned to the 12-year-old’s ‘confusion’ about the cover?
That kid won’t have clean hands for a week.
Mom, I think confused means GAY. Why is he reading Cosmo? Does he get confused by other covers. Lea did not make him gay.
LOL!!! I agree. Dad was probably feeling the same way. The show itself deals with all sorts of adult sexual situations. What’s going on when that stuff comes up?
You’re right, CG. Watching Glee is what will make him gay.
Parents are aware that there are people having the sex on Glee, right? And Lea Michele is an adult woman, it’s ridiculous to hold her to some strict behavioral code simply because she portrays a high school student on television in a show that was never marketed expressly as a kids show.
I agree – it’s not like Glee has the most G-rated storylines at all.
Exactly. Are these parents who are ‘offended’ actually watching ‘Glee’? If they are, they evidently aren’t paying very close attention. Besides, that cover is pretty tame compared to some of the others out there.
Miley Cyrus showed more skin in her Annie Lebowitz photo shoot than this, and she was 15 at the time!!!
Glee has some completely adult storylines, and at least 3-4 quips a show I wouldn’t want my kid hearing. Why are parents so opposed to parenting? Why is everything someone else’s fault?
Exactly. Apparently parents weren’t paying attention when Santana instructed John Stamos to “drill her anytime”
Agree. I have an 11 year old boy & an 8 year old daughter & neither have a clue what Glee is. They may have heard about it from friends at school but they have never seen an episode & actually they don’t watch tv at night at all.
I suspect that pretty much every child would have no idea what “drill me anytime” was supposed to mean.
I’m with you. If my 12 year old is confused by what he sees in a magazine there are much bigger issues, like maybe I’m not communicating to him the fact that TV is make believe!
Or that women have (cover your ears) breasts (yeah, I said it)
G8rfan94, YOU LIE! I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!!!
My thoughts exactly! I let my 10 year old daughter watch the show, but, that is after I have screened it. And if is a racy episode, I don’t let her watch it at all. Glee may be about high school kids but it is definitely not for children. I think Leah plays the part so well people tend to forget she is a grown woman!
Not to mention, this will not be the only role she will play. She’s trying to avoid typecasting, and I don’t blame her.
As a parent of two teenagers, one a boy the other a girl, I have to say quite humbly and sadly that girls send photos of themselves to boys via their cell cameras or web cameras that are worse than that one of Lea, and in some ways I admire the trend with her and other young stars (Olivia Wilde among them) having natural breasts so that girls looking at them don’t think ‘there is something wrong with me’.
My 9 year old loves Glee, because she loves music, dancing and singing. However, as her parents, we understand that the themes and sometimes graphic scenes are not for her, so she watches our edited version. Also, I have no problem keeping her away from the Cosmo, GQ or any other adult magazine, in which the Glee cast is acting their actual ages, rather than their characters’. It’s really not that difficult to help your children navigate the world of pop culture, if you just take the time.
My 10yo son watches Glee, but it is after I’ve seen it. He did not watch the Brittney episode (the pep rally scene was much too racy) or a few others because I deemed them a little too mature for him. For the most part, there are some good lessons in Glee that tweens and teens can learn, like accepting who you are no matter what. And if he has questions about anything he sees, on Glee or elsewhere, we discuss them openly and honestly. Hence, it’s not a big deal to him or us. It’s called “parenting.”
exactly – i mean wasn’t one of the very first episodes one of quinn giving finn “satisfaction” in the hot tub and his acceptance that she could get pregnant by the “result” swimming? that’s pretty adult if you ask me.
Oh come on. People need to stop acting like Glee is a show for kids- especially Ryan Murphy, who apparently thinks it’s shaping 7 year olds’ futures.
When I got this in the mail my first thought wasn’t “How inappropriate!” It was “Where has the healthy looking star gone? Who is this stick?”
It was the outfit. Lea has not thinned out.
You’re crazy, she’s vegan skin and bones.
Go on a diet fatty. Anyone who criticizes the few people left in America who AREN’T obese must be a huge porker!!
Wow paul, way to have a mature and intelligent discussion of divergent opinions. Thanks, also, for the truth of your blanket statement that must be accurate. I mean, it can’t be possible that people at healthy weights would be critical of someone they think is too thing. No, only fat people (and you) are judgemental. Nice job!
Geez, Ken, lighten up. Where did you get the idea that the comments section for an article in an entertainment magazine is supposed to be “a mature and intelligent discussion of divergent opinions?”
I’m not sure where people got the idea that GLEE was supposed to be a family-friendly kid’s show. Just because it has singing and dancing in it doesn’t mean it’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, folks!
This, absolutely. If the parents are offended, it’s their own fault for assuming that singing and dancing equals squeaky-clean HSM type fare. If they had actually watched the show, they’d know. It’s been very, very racy right from the start. The “Push It” number was in one of the first episodes for crying out loud.
Well said. I let my 13 year old watch it, but have friends who won’t let their kids watch it. And I think my son’s reaction to the photo would not be confusion!
But doesn’t Ryan Murphy himself seem to think this is the case? I seem to recall him chastising the Kings of Leon for passing up an opportunity to have their music presented on the show. His reasoning was, at least in part, that the show turns young kids on to music. You can’t really have it both ways.
Having said that, I don’t find the picture itself too terribly inappropriate. It’s the references to the articles inside surrounding the picture that I’d not want my child to see. And it’s hard to avoid that because these magazines are typically front and center at the check out lines in stores.
Ah yes.
One of the lessons that every seven year old needs to learn is “F— you, Kings of Leon” (Murphy’s own words.)
Lately, Murphy seems to be coming off as more and more of a tool every time he talks.
(Oh no, I said something mildly disparaging about Ryan Murphy…that must mean I’m also an enemy of arts education!)
Well, then Ryan Murphy has developed a skewed view of his own show. If he honestly thinks that a show that includes the “Push It” and “Toxic” numbers (among other racy ones), Brittany and Santana making out, allusions to how promiscuous Brittany, Santana, and Puck are, and numbers for songs that contain explicit lyrics (yeah, like the kids don’t know the *real* lyrics to “Forget You”) is appropriate for young kids (I’m assuming he means pre-teen), then he’s way off base. Sure, there are some really good and helpful messages scattered through the episodes, but in his quest to always top what’s come before, he’s lost touch of what’s appropriate if he still thinks his target audience is pre-teen.
@ Mr. Holloway ITA. I hate that guy now.
Okay orville… my child has no clue what the real lyrics to “Forget you” are! And as for Toxic, it is on Just Dance 2, which all the the third grade girls are playing on Wii. Then again, I remember as a kid singing every word to every song on the Grease soundtrack, and having no clue what any of it meant. Heck, I sang “Seduce Me Tonight” off the Flashdance soundtrack without so much as a hint of what it was about. I think if you keep your kids, kids… they can enjoy dancing and singing along without much worry about what lyrics mean!
Anyone who chastises the Kings of Leon is awesome. They suck.
Kaye, well put. Kids don’t understand every single sexual reference – like “you can drill me anytime.”
HOT.
Some might say she has a nose for controversy…
idiot
Frank’s just mad because somebody beat him to the punch.
no just a dumb comment. nothing wrong with her nose.
There’s nothing at all wrong with her nose. It’s just there’s so much of it.
Frank, stop being so nosy.
Frank really “nose” what he’s talking about.
hahahaha
The irony here is that Lea Michelle is probably showing LESS than the average Cosmo cover model. Maybe this mother’s problem is that her husband is enjoying the cover, not her son.
Exactly – I was thinking that this is one of the more tame Cosmo cover photos I’ve seen in a while.
While on the one hand, I find that Lea Michelle tries WAY to hard to be sexy to the point it’s almost funny. But on the other hand, she’s free to wear a plunging neckline all she wants. I find the whole idea of censoring everything just in case children might catch a glimpse ridiculous.
I agree that she tries too hard. She’s not going to distract people from her face if that’s what she’s going for.
BS – she has always liked to dress a little revealing even before glee. She has a pretty face no need to distract anyone. To say she isn’t attractive is jsut wrong. Not you type ok, but not attractive please
Maybe becasue there are some really nasty people who go off on her looks all the time. I think she is very pretty at times even stunning. I don’t think she is trying to hard she is jsut a little dramatic not big deal. I’d rather she a little personality not matter how over the top than boring.
If anything, this plunging neckline is inappropriate because Lea has no cleavage to speak of; the dress is not flattering. Parents need to stop expecting society and the media to parent for them.
No need to be petty. She looks plenty sexy.
I like that she isn’t falling out of the dress. Its realistic. If you want to be a size 0 or 2 you will not have large breasts unless the gods have gifted you in a really rare way. If you are a size 0 or 2 you have small breasts unless they are enhanced.
Yes, hands are exactly what we are talking about. The 12 yr old’s hand.
LOL
Oh no! Not the outline of a boob! How scandalous! Give me a break.
Why does the world need to come to an end every time a minority of parents can’t have a reasoned discussion with their children?
It’s not ‘Teen Beat.’ I understand that these images surface in other media in addition to the pages of the magazine, but these are publications aimed at adults. If parents let their kids see them, then it’s their problem. If he/she happens to see it on the news stands then it’s up to the parent to explain that these are adults, regardless of the fact that they pklay teenagers on TV. Besides, what do these complaining parents say about the plot lines and costumes on the show? How did they explain to their little angels how Quinn got pregnant, and what Santana and Brittney were donig with Finn… if they’re too sensitive to see Lea showing some ‘cleavage’ then they’re too sensitive for the mature content of the show too.
Totally stupid in every way imaginable.
Cosmo is obviously not a magazine for kids. (More than the neckline, I think ‘THE SEX QUIZ’ and ‘Get Naked!’ catchlines should tip you off.) “Glee” is NOT a show for children and, as Mandi pointed out, the picture doesn’t even inspire a covert reference to her role on the show (like the GQ/high school one did) besides the fact that she’s an actress on that show.
Early frontrunner for biggest non-controversy of the week.
THIS.
I wanna know why a parent would be letting her child read a Cosmo in the first place.
I wanna know why a 12-year-old boy doesn’t know the difference between a TV character and a TV actress. This mother needs to teach her kid some common sense.
Seriously. I could see if he was maybe 6 or 7 but 12? I bet he sees more than that in middle school.
The article didn’t say the boy was reading it, just that he saw the cover. Cosmo is found in most stores’ checkout lanes, so he could have seen it there.
Does he see women there too!
Amen! I was waiting for someone to bring this up – I don’t think any parent is buying their 12-yr-old Cosmo. That said – I would have loved to overhear that mother/son conversation!
So Lea Michelle should wear something more appropriate on the cover of a magazine that has a headline of “Get Naked.” Lady, this is Cosmo every month with every star on the cover and now this is an issue? Hell, Lady Gaga (which 11 year olds listen to) was on a cover with just her bra and panties and I don’t think there was an uproar or a Fox News report.
This has to be one of the most ridiculous controversies I’ve seen. Seriously. Oh no! Hide your kids! It’s cleavage. Give me a break. Just because someone has fans that are under 14, doesn’t mean they can’t pose for Cosmo. I’m not sure how someone can allow her 11 year-old to watch Glee, and then go on to complain about cleavage. Have these mothers ever seen Glee? It’s not for kids.
I don’t consider that “cleavage.” “Cleavage” is when there are two breasts so close together that a line forms between them. Not two pectoral glands separated by a wide expanse of sternum coverage.
lmao
Bwah ha ha ha! Yeah, that’s true and a very good lesson in vocabulary. Thanks Brett.