Colton Haynes: MTV Boss Nearly Rejected Me From ‘Teen Wolf’ Over Past Gay Photoshoot

Zack Sharf
·2 min read
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Colton Haynes was a series regular on the MTV supernatural drama series “Teen Wolf” for two seasons, but the actor reveals in his new memoir, “Miss Memory Lane,” that he almost didn’t get cast in the role of Jackson Whittemore. According to Haynes, the head of MTV at the time didn’t want to hire him because of the gay-themed XY Magazine photo shoot he did as a teenager years before the show.

Haynes writes in his memoir that his manager told him (via Entertainment Weekly), “Look what almost happened, Colton. The head of MTV almost didn’t hire you because of that XY photo shoot we’ve been working our asses off to extinguish. Thank god [showrunner Jeff Davis] fought for you to get that role.”

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Haynes added that Davis “indeed fought for me,” adding, “I was grateful to him, and eager not to fuck up the opportunity.”

Although Haynes was openly gay as a teenager, he says he was forced back into the closet when he made the jump from model to actor. After he landed his breakthrough “Teen Wolf” role, Haynes’ manager allegedly told him to “stay in character both on and off set” so that the industry would assume he’s straight.

Haynes’ XY Magazine photo shoot depicted him shirtless being pinned down to the floor by another male model. Other photos in the spread featured Haynes kissing a fellow male model. Haynes writes in his memoir that his team “spent years sending cease-and-desist letters to everyone who posted my XY shoot” when he was trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood.

“Teen Wolf” ran for six seasons and 100 episodes on MTV between 2011 and 2017. Haynes will be reprising his role in the recently announced movie spinoff, which will debut exclusively on Paramount+. Haynes will be joined in the upcoming “Teen Wolf” film by former co-stars Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Holland Roden and Shelley Hennig.

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