Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay

Format

The two-hour special was set in West Hollywood and featured two straight men—a 22-year-old student from Florida and a 28-year-old salesman from Massachusetts—competing for a $50,000 reward. To win, they had to pass as gay for a week and immerse themselves in gay culture. They moved into separate lofts with gay roommates, came out to their best friends, and socialized at gay nightclubs. Daily challenges included swimsuit modeling for gay men, confiding in a former teammate about enjoying close contact with sweaty boys, fork-feeding a blind date and asking to be spanked, making a gay face, and naming a favorite male pornographic film actor.

Each contestant had three coaches called mantors. At week's end, a panel of gay men, told only one contestant was actually gay, judged who was more convincing; that contestant received the reward. Irish television presenter Amanda Byram hosted.

Announcement and reception

Fox issued a press release on May 13, 2004, for the special, scheduled to air June 7, 2004. The release described the premise as a heterosexual male's worst nightmare: turning gay overnight, and stated the winner would be chosen by a jury of their queers. Television critics, including The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes, called it homophobic.

Production company World of Wonder, which specializes in LGBTQ programming, called it a potential problem that exploits gay men. Four hours later, Fox issued a revised press release omitting those lines and apologized, calling the original a failed attempt at humor. The announcement followed rising interest in LGBTQ-themed reality shows.

GLAAD, after reviewing an advance copy, condemned the special as an exercise in systematic humiliation, citing dialogue where contestants called it their worst nightmare and being trapped in gay hell. GLAAD said it was offensive and could increase violence against gay people. Entertainment media director Stephen Macias called it ludicrously sophomoric notions of what it is to be gay.

Cancelation

On May 27, 2004, eleven days before the premiere, Fox shelved the special. A Fox spokesperson said the network looked at it and creatively it was not where they felt it should be. The announcement came hours after GLAAD scheduled a meeting with Fox's entertainment president Gail Berman to discuss concerns. According to The Advocate, an inside source at Fox alleged executives believed the gay reality phenomenon was waning, citing underperformance of Playing It Straight and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

The special was replaced by a telecasting of American Pie 2. Responses were mixed; Giuliani attributed cancellation to pressure from GLAAD, criticizing the organization for not discussing concerns with producers. Beat said the network was unenthusiastic and that cancellation might indicate LGBT representation was no longer shocking. GLAAD commended Fox for doing the right thing.

Lawsuit

On August 23, 2005, Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay was among several programs cited in a class-action lawsuit filed by the Writers Guild of America. The suit, Shriver v. Rocket Science Laboratories, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against production company Rocket Science Laboratories and Fox. Plaintiffs included writers and editors who alleged violations of the California Labor Code regarding overtime, wages, and meal periods.

They claimed the companies forced employees to falsify time cards to receive a flat weekly rate despite working nearly 80 hours a week with no meal breaks. A settlement of $2.57 million was reached in 2009, though both companies denied liability. Plaintiff's attorney Emma Leheny said she would like to say the case brought these violations to an end, but they still go on.