The stars of “Glee” may have raised a few eyebrows with their sexy new photo spread for GQ, but they also have drawn the ire of a TV watchdog group, which says the shots send the wrong message.
The Parents Television Council issued a statement on Wednesday, slamming the racy new photos, which feature a scantily clad Lea Michele and Dianna Agron, along with a fully clothed Cory Monteith.
“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. It borders on pedophilia,” the organization’s president Tim Winter claimed. “Sadly, this is just the latest example of the overt sexualization of young girls in entertainment.”
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, the new GQ feature – which was released on Tuesday and is featured in the mag’s upcoming November issue – features Lea and Dianna in several playful, provocative poses, all the while wearing tiny tops with short skirts or underwear – albeit, not showing anything more than a typical two-piece swimsuit would.
However, the PTC has dubbed the shots “near-pornographic.”
“Many children who flocked to ‘High School Musical’ have grown into ‘Glee’ fans. They are now being treated to seductive, in-your-face poses of the underwear-clad female characters posing in front of school lockers, one of them opting for a full-frontal crotch shot. By authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions on the show’s direction. And it isn’t good for families,” Winter’s statement continued. “Parents need to be on guard as we expect the show to push the envelope even further. Unfortunately, it seems ‘Glee’ is only masquerading as family show and is far from appropriate for young viewers.”
In his own defense, series creator Ryan Murphy previously told GQ that although the show has come under fire for some racy scenes this season, despite “Glee’s” 8 PM time slot, he never intended the series to be a traditional family show.
“I didn’t want to do a family show,” Ryan told GQ. “I wanted to do my version of a family show.”
When contacted by Access Hollywood, FOX had no comment on the PTC’s comments.
“Glee” is the second mainstream pop culture target the PTC has taken aim at in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the group issued a statement bemoaning Miley Cyrus’ sexy new “Who Owns My Heart?” music video.
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