Ryan Murphy: The WB Was ‘Relentlessly Homophobic’ When ‘Popular’ Was on the Air

“American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy said the WB Television Network was “relentlessly homophobic” while his show “Popular” was on the air.

“They never got me and they kept trying to turn me into something else,” Murphy told Entertainment Weekly. “And they were very homophobic even though they would have gay characters on the air.”

He added, “They would give me notes, like, ‘The Mary Cherry character, like, could she be less gay?’ Like, it was very relentlessly homophobic.’ It was rough and I didn’t have a good experience with the studio and everybody.”

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“Popular” ran for two seasons on The WB between 1999 and 2001. The cult favorite starred Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two high school girls on opposite ends of the social spectrum, but were forced to get along when their parents got married.

Murphy, who is also the mastermind behind shows like “Glee” and “Scream Queens,” said that his tug of war with the network was a valuable learning experience.

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“It was a really important experience for me because what I learned is follow your gut, listen to your voice, and if they don’t want your voice, they don’t want you,” he added.

The WB, a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting, shut down in January 2006, and was replaced that same year with the CW, a joint venture between parent companies Warner Bros. and CBS. The show was produced by Touchstone Television, a production division of the Disney-ABC Television Group.

Warner Bros. declined to comment.

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