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'Glee' photos in GQ magazine 'near-pornographic' and border on 'pedophilia', Parents Television Council says

10/20/2010 by Corinne Heller

Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith and Lea Michele of 'Glee' grave the November 2010 cover of GQ magazine. (Photo courtesy of GQ) Racy photos of some of the cast members of Glee published in GQ magazine have been criticized by the Parents Television Council, which said the pictures are "near pornographic" and border on "pedophilia".

The cover of the magazine's November 2010 issues shows Cory Monteith smiling as he puts his hands around the behinds of Lea Michele, who dons a white shirt, white knee-high socks and a pink bra and underwear, and Dianna Agron, who wears a mini skirt and shows her bra strap.

"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," The Parents Television Council's president Tim Winter said in a statement.

"It borders on pedophilia," he said. "By authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions on the show's direction. And it isnt good for families. 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."

Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief of GQ, defended the photos, saying: "The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy. As often happens in Hollywood, these 'kids' are in their twenties. I think they're old enough to do what they want."

Even though the actors play high school students on the show, Monteith is 28 and Michele and Agron are 24.

The producers of Glee and its network, FOX, have not commented. Earlier this month, Michele shot racy photos for Marie Claire magazine, which showed her almost topless.

Glee, a FOX musical sitcom, depicts the lives of eclectic glee club members in a U.S. high school. The show is on its second season. The cast covers popular music as well as Broadway showtunes and recently broke the Beatles' record for most appearances among non-solo acts in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Glee has tackled topics deemed daring for a high school series. Racial, sexual and other controversial topics are spoken about candidly and with dry humor.

On an episode that aired on October 12, two female cheerleaders were seen making out. Last month, an episode dedicated to pop star Britney Spears, who also appeared in person, showed the cast igniting a "sex riot" in school by performing a seductive performance of Spears' song "Toxic".

Murphy told OnTheRedCarpet.com he would like an episode to deal with teen suicides, in wake of recent suicides by gay teenagers who were taunted by their peers.

The cast of Glee is set to perform songs from the 1975 cult musical film The Rocky Horror Picture Show in an episode titled "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", set to air on October 26, just ahead of Halloween. (Check out a video).