While many “Glee” fans and television industry reporters have scoffed at the Parents Television Council’s negative reaction to a risque GQ photoset featuring three cast members, one of the actresses is more sympathetic to concerns.
The photoshoot features “Glee” stars Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Dianna Agron; the two females are in revealing clothing. Although Michele, in particular, has appeared in photos showcasing her body and even appeared topless on stage, the fact that this photoshoot played off the “Glee” gimmick rattled the cages of some censorship supporters.
Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn Fabray, is not willing to condemn the photoshoot nor the risque components of “Glee,” but in a diplomatic blog post, she does say that the pictorial was “not her favorite idea” and not reflective of who she is.
Wrote Agron, “Nobody is perfect, and these photos do not represent who I am. I am also not the girl who rolls out of bed with flawless makeup and couture clothing. I am most comfortable with my hair thrown on top of my head, in sweats, laughing with my friends. Glee is a show that represents the underdogs, which is a feeling I have embraced much of my own life, and to those viewers, the photos in GQ don’t give them that same feeling. I understand completely.”
She added, “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.”
With her comments, Agron interestingly hits on a point that was touted by some of the photoshoot’s critics. While the actors are either in their mid- or late-twenties and thus more than mature enough to participate in a racy pictorial, critics noted that the connection to their characters, who are all in high school, made the shoot particularly offensive.
Of course, that does not mean Agron is willing to blindly side with those who complained about the impact on the show’s younger fans.
She ponders, “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…I understand that in today’s world of advanced technology, the internet, our kids can be subject to very adult material at the click of a button. But there are parental locks, and ways to get around this.”
As a final parting, Agron notes that while these photos are not frame-worthy, they are also not depictive of a moment in her life she will long regret.
“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. These aren’t photos I am going to frame and put on my desk, but hey, nor are any of the photos I take for magazines,” said Agron, adding, “If you asked me for my dream photo shoot, I’d be in a treehouse, in a wild costume, war-paint and I’d be playing with my pet dragon.”
