There was quite an uproar over judge Nigel Lythgoe's homophobic comments in regards to an audition from two male dancers. He told the couple, "I think you probably alienate a lot of our audience. I mean, we've always had the guys dance together on the show, but I've -- they've never really done it in each other's arms before." Shortly thereafter, he added, "Do you know what? I'd like to see you both dancing with a girl." He later took to his Twitter account and noted that "The same sex ballroom guys did remind me of 'Blades of Glory.' However, I'm not a fan of 'Brokeback' Ballroom."

You can watch the original comments here:

Well, he's now trying to do some "damage control" rather poorly by insisting that it wasn't the men's sexuality that had him in a tizzy, it was rather their gender -- namely, that they were too effeminate for the dancefloor. He says on his Twitter:

I hear I'm taking a beating on the web due to my comments regarding same sex ballroom I thought I was the most accepting of it on the panel?

The same sex ballroom guys did remind me of "Blades of Glory." However, I'm not a fan of 'Brokeback' Ballroom.

I am very sad the word 'homophobe' is being used. That is someone who hates homosexuals. I dislike effeminate dancing! Wake up and listen!

I believe overtly effeminate dancing destroys the opportunity for many male dancers to be supported. Being gay doesn't mean effeminate.

We have had same sex dancing on SYTYCD from Season 1. Last year Joshua and Twitch. Before that Mia's Prince's routine with Danny and Neil.

I am passionate about dancers and dancing. I am not interested in their sexual preferences only their dancing and performances. Offstage ??

And in an interview with AfterElton:

AE: Why don't you like the effeminate [dancers]?

NL: Because they need to be very strong. Dancing is role-playing most of the time. And you need to be strong and lift girls. You need to look stronger than the girl you're dancing with. You control the dance, especially in ballroom. So if you mince about the stage, you're not doing what the choreographer is asking you to do. He's asking you to be strong. If your choreographer then wants to do an effeminate routine, then that's fine, but most of the time we don't do effeminate routines so straight or gay doesn't come into it for me.

This all reminds me of the way another reality TV show competition treated gay dancers -- Step It Up and Dancer. I wrote last year about how the judges routinely mocked or chastised the gay dancers for being overly effeminate, and that this was unacceptable behavior for the dancefloor.

I have two words for these assholes: FUCK YOU. It's almost worse than homophobia in my eyes because its homophobia's insidious veiled gender-fied core that is widely tolerated and promoted in every aspect of our culture (see my essay, "The Making of a Southern Faggot" in Beyond Masculinity for more on this). We need to destroy it -- to call it out by its name and expose it as nothing but disgusting and repellant bigotry.

Don't be fooled by his dance routine around the issue: Nigel Lythgoe is a sissyphobic, gender-policing bigot. He is one of many. We need to be vigilant in calling out the assholes who perpetuate this systematic prejudice and work to systematically reorder acceptable gender. That may include redefining and broadening masculinity, or it may include destroying the entire concept altogether. Whatever our project, gender as we currently understand it needs to go.