How far is too far?

When I got home from work yesterday, I turned on the TV to see Entertainment Tonight running a story on the “controversial cover” of the November issue of GQ magazine. The cover features Glee cast members Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, and Cory Monteith in underwear, revealing shirts, and short skirts as seen below.

The images inside the magazine are much more suggestive and seductive. I have no desire to post them on my blog, but you can view the slideshow on GQ’s website here if you wish.

Now back to my point of this post…

Whether or not you or I agree with this style of photo shoot, is it wrong for adult cast members playing high school characters to do a risqué photo shoot for an adult magazine?

My husband and I discussed this for about 10 minutes after seeing the story. Entertainment Tonight emphasized the seductiveness of the shoot, mainly focusing on what they were wearing. Then they commented on whether or not it was appropriate for your children to see their favorite tv characters in this manner. Now I am not saying they should or should not have done the photo shoot, but I will say that if children are reading GQ, that is a problem. Hollywood is known for pushing the envelope, and racy photos will not cease to exist in our lifetime. This is something we cannot control, but parents, teachers, church leaders, etc. have more influence and control on what their children read, as well as what they teach them to be appropriate. In fact, I feel that Entertainment Tonight may have given children and teens more exposure to the Glee Gone Wild photo shoot just by airing it on television.

So who determines what is appropriate for adult actors playing younger characters these days? Can you blame them for doing an adult photo shoot? Is there a rule book somewhere that says if you are playing a character below a certain age, you must portray yourself as if you were that age? Where do you draw the line?

I also believe that a lot of children and teenagers look towards their favorite actors/actresses as role models. I did when I was younger, and I still do, but do you remember the Britney – Justin scandal circa 2001 (not certain on the year exactly, but you know what I mean)? I remember that quite well because I was all, “Ohmigosh I love Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake” because I’m like every other teenage girl around! Then the story came out that they weren’t virgins. No biggie. My teenage years weren’t scarred because they were doing the dirty behind closed doors and lying about it. It didn’t make me believe that those kind of actions were appropriate for someone my age because my parents, teachers, and church leaders educated me on the subject. Yes, I realize that not all children are raised in a home that teaches children and teens about these types of things, but is that actor/singer/celebrity’s fault? I don’t think so. Nor do I think it is the children’s fault.

Moving on…

One of the following stories on Entertainment Tonight was about Katy Perry and her wedding plans. Now she is someone I would be more worried about.

She wears outfits like this on a more regular basis as compared to the Glee cast members, and have you read any of her lyrics? Have you? Practically every time you see/hear her on tv or in magazines she is portraying herself in a seductive manner. After all, her new album is titled “Teenage Dream.”

I’m just sayin..

According to my husband, “Katy Perry is someone that shouldn’t be allowed around children.”

Andddd I’ll leave it at that and end on this note:

I know this is a controversial issue, and that is why I chose to write about it. I know that everyone has been raised differently and has differing opinions. I am not saying the Glee cast members did or didn’t do anything wrong with this photo shoot because I can honestly see both sides. All I ask is that if you leave a comment, please be nice and respectful because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Feel free to leave yours. 🙂