Who knew HGTV's Design Star was so badass?
First, ousted participant Michael Verdugo was put on administrative leave with his day job in the police department, where he has worked for years, after allegations surfaced that he appeared in gay porn. Now, Gawker and others are accusing HGTV of placing a gag order on their star to prevent him from talking about bonking dudes in the same breath that he promoted their show...
First, in Florida:
Hollywood police have put patrol officer Michael Verdugo on leave until the department determines whether the HGTV Design Star contestant appeared in a 1996 porn film.
''Verdugo has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of a fact-finding Internal Affairs investigation,'' Hollywood police spokesman Lt. Manny Marino said Thursday. [Miami Herald]
Then Gawker weighs in:
Design Star, an HGTV interior decorating challenge show, is one of our gayest reality programs, and the network is free to admit it. Their PR people set up interviews with gay-themed publications for the series' many out loud 'n, um, loud designsters, though it is ultimately each man's (or, I guess, woman's) choice whether or not to talk about their sexuality. Pretty admirable for television, I think. So what, then, happened with Mikey V., a queeny cop cum (always makes me awkward, every time) decorator with a tiny little bondage porn past who says he was happy to chat with the gay media, but claims he was shushed by HGTV? Two theories abound. Was it a marketing decision, or pornophobia?
We say marketing. All these networks care about is sucking in viewers anyway they can-- if that means getting gay men to tune in based on interviews, they'll get their stars to do interviews. But a gay porn star is a loose cannon-- imagine the outrage if a housewife in Des Moines found out her favorite "character" likes in the butt-- and not with her finger.
At least, that's the thinking at HGTV headquarters for sure. Meanwhile, here are some delectable photos from our friend's alleged porn past:
Via Gawker.
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