Joel McHale, the lanky funnyman who stars in the NBC series "Community" and hosts E!'s "The Soup," has dismissed long-held rumors that he was gay.
At a time when an increasing number of gay celebrities are publicly opening up about their sexuality, McHale said he felt the need to set the record straight, despite having been married to actress Sarah Williams since 1996 and having two children.
McHale told
The Advocate, a national gay magazine, that he doesn't understand why some men get insulted by the suggestion, which he considers "a compliment."
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"I always find it really weird when guys flip out over someone thinking they might be gay," McHale said. "If a guy gets offended by that, there's something's wrong with him. I take it as a compliment."
In the Advocate interview, the 41-year-old McHale acknowledged that when he was starting out in Hollywood he was often hit on by men.
McHale also joked that he had a "dude crush" on NBC's Brian Williams, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, and Cher's son Chaz Bono among others.
Considering the NBC comedy series "Community" has struggled with its ratings, having recently reappeared earlier this year after being temporarily shelved in 2012, McHale thanked the gay community for its significant support of the show.
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"Community needs all the help it can get, so thank God for our gay fans," McHale told The Advocate. "Our young gay fans especially are the loudest and most Internet-savvy. That also speaks to the quality of our show, which I think is highly intelligent."
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