Jane Lynch on Newsweek/Glee Controversy

Glee creator Ryan Murphy and occasional guest-star Kristin Chenoweth both released statements last week condemning the Newsweek article “Straight Jacket,” which claimed gay actors could not convincingly play straight characters. Murphy then announced that the article’s writer, Ramin Setoodeh, had agreed to visit with Murphy and his Glee writers.

Entertainment Weekly spoke with Glee star (and out lesbian) Jane Lynch, who applauded Murphy and Chenoweth’s statements but also believes that Setoodeh is allowed to have his own opinions. “The thing is, actors are actors: You can’t play gay anymore than you can play somebody who’s Catholic,” says Lynch. “Aaron Sorkin wrote a wonderful thing in the Huffington Post. I don’t think you have to slap somebody down for making an opinion that you don’t agree with. But I do think what Kristin and Ryan did was so important, and I’m glad that they said it. It doesn’t mean, ‘Off with [Setoodeh's] head.’ But I’m very glad, and I thought it was very heroic what the two of them did.”