Singer says Superman not gay

In May, The Advocate ran a cover story with the headline "How Gay Is Superman?" The piece proved to be so intriguing that, after "gay Superman" Internet buzz traveled the globe, Superman Returns director Bryan Singer issued a statement Friday officially denying that the Man of Steel is gay. Superman "is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie I've ever made," said the out director. "I don't think he's ever been gay." On the other hand, Singer pointed out, his Superman is a "very romantic icon," with a vulnerable quality that, judging by the trailers, works just fine for the film's Lois Lane.

Ironically, the Advocate story did not suggest that the superhero is gay but instead described how the secret lives of superheroes resonate with LGBT youth who must conceal important things about themselves. Nevertheless, as the story traveled the Internet and made its way to cable talk TV, it was steadily embroidered and exaggerated until it became something else entirely. By this past week, news outlets were stating that gays are demanding that Superman be gay. One conservative pundit even took Warner Bros. to task for courting the gay audience by suggesting that Superman is gay--something that to our knowledge never happened.