WWE and gay and lesbian rights organisation GLAAD have been teaming up for years now, in conjunction with WWE's efforts with organisations such as Be A Star and their doctrine to promote tolerance and an anti-discrimination message in general. It is not the first time that WWE and GLAAD have worked with each other, however. Looking at WWE's television content before the big switch to PG in spring 2008, you will find countless examples of WWE making fun of gay, lesbian and transgender people (as well as all the other minorities). Often tasteless and appealing to the lowest common denominator, in WWE land LGBT folk were the butt of jokes, not rounded, sympathetic characters. That looked like it might change in 2002, with the wedding of Billy and Chuck. The duo dropped the ambiguity when Billy proposed to Chuck. GLAAD, working under the false assumption that WWE were trying to present the tag team as progressive and hopeful that they would provide inspiration for closeted teens, endorsed the angle. GLAAD publicly expressed their admiration for WWE for moving with the times (were they watching the same storyline?), proclaiming it to be ground-breaking television and revealed that they had been working with WWE on the storyline for two months. This being wrestling (a wrestling wedding no less), it was clear from the off that it would all end in tears. Which it did, when WWE bottled it and revealed during the wedding that the whole thing had been a publicity stunt orchestrated by Billy and Chuck's stylist Rico. When they revealed that they were straight, the 'revelation' received one of the loudest pops of the night, from a live crowd who were dead opposed to the gay wedding. GLAAD were made to look like fools, WWE were made to look more desperate to claw back their past ratings supremacy and the fans were made to look like the bigots they were. A win-win all round, then.
