Kings Of Leon just boorish, not homophobic

Kings Of Leon at war with Glee? It's like an FA Cup Match between Nowhere Town and Barely United.

Ryan Murphy, the man who "created Glee" (and, at the same time, killed hope), had had a little pop at the Kings Of Leon earlier in the week in The Hollywood Reporter:

"Fuck you, Kings of Leon. They're self-centered assholes, and they missed the big picture. They missed that a 7-year-old kid can see someone close to their age singing a Kings of Leon song, which will maybe make them want to join a glee club or pick up a musical instrument. It's like, OK, hate on arts education. You can make fun of Glee all you want, but at its heart, what we really do is turn kids on to music."

This might be seen as being a little extreme. Sure, some kids might discover music through Glee, but it's not like it's the only way to discover music, and you could argue that the glossy, sugary version of music offered by Glee might be as offputting to some kids as it is a turn-on. Having some music that isn't turned into a big production number is surely a good thing?

And to say that refusing to licence a song to a hugely profitable television and merchandising franchise is the same as decrying arts education is the claim of a man who has confused being showrunner on a live-action version of The Archies with being the Mahatma of Musical Education. It's a silly, self-satisfied claim.

This is terrible, though. I'm having to side with the Kings Of Leon. I hope their response is somehow douchey, to restore the natural balance.

Luckily, they don't let me down:

Kings Of Leon Vs. 'Glee': Nathan Followill FIRES BACK At Ryan Murphy In Homophobic Rant

Really? A homophobic rant, you say, Huffington Post? That sounds bad:

Here's how Nathan Followill, the drummer of the band of brothers, replied via Twitter: "Dear Ryan Murphy, let it go. See a therapist, get a manicure, buy a new bra. Zip your lip and focus on educating 7yr olds how to say fuck."

That's not really a homophobic rant, is it? It's just a bit petty and overstated. But you can see how it might look a little homophobic to tell a gay man to buy a bra.

It took Followill a short while to see how it might look like that.

Realizing how his comments could be seen, Followill later tweeted: "I'm sorry 4 anyone that misconstrued my comments as homophobic or misogynistic. I'm so not that kind of person. I really do apologize."

Followill's apology seems genuine - or at least as genuine as anything in Glee or the Kings Of Leon catalogue, so it's a little unfair of HuffPo to insist he was ranting homphobically. Unthinkingly? yes. Ranty? A little bit. But all in all, the Huffington Post has managed to make itself a full third partner in a story from which nobody emerges looking that good.