Ramin Setoodeh Leaves <em>Newsweek</em>: Writer Of Controversial Gay Actors Piece Joining <em>People</em>

Ramin Setoodeh, the Newsweek journalist who wrote the controversial "Straight Jacket" piece in April, is leaving Newsweek to write for People magazine, a People spokesperson confirms to the New York Observer.

Setoodeh will start at People as a senior writer focusing on news and human-interest during the second week of July, the spokesperson said.

In his review of the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, Setoodeh argued that Sean Hayes, the openly gay actor playing the male lead, was not convincing in the role of a straight man.

For example, Setoodeh wrote that Hayes' sexuality was the "big, pink elephant in the room" and described his performance as "wooden and insincere."

Critics including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and Glee creator Ryan Murphy publicly panned Setoodeh's remarks as homophobic, and Kristen Chenoweth, the female lead starring opposite Hayes, penned a critical response to Setoodeh, calling his remarks "horrendously homophobic."

Setoodeh — who is gay — defended his remarks, claiming he meant to simply "open a debate" about the role of sexuality in acting.