Devon Werkheiser: Ned's Declassified gay panic, gay friends, bare butts, and a nude Nolan Gould

 

Link to the bare butts and nude Gould

20 years ago, when LGBTQ people could never be mentioned on kids' tv, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004-2007) was a gay-subtext classic.

Ned (Devon Werkheiser) offers tips for surviving middle school, always saying "When you like someone" rather than "When  boy likes a girl."

An episode about puberty discusses hair in weird places and sudden fits of rage, but not "discovering the opposite sex."

The bully Loomer (Kyle Swann) who has a gay-subtext friendship with his crony, struggles to "come out" about his interest in fashion design -- as close to "gay" as they could get.

Buddy Jennifer is afraid to ask the school hunk (Alex Black) for a date, so Ned volunteers to do it.  The hunk believes that Ned wants the date, and replies “Sure, but just as friends. I like you, Ned, but not in that way," boldly implying that gay dating is commonplace at Polk Middle School.

Ned tries to cheer up the depressed Marc Downer by getting him a date with a cheerful boy.  When that doesn't work, he tries a depressed girl.

A Buzzfeed article on "21 Actors Who Came Out after Playing LGBTQ Characters" states that Ned was gay, but Nickelodeon was not permitting gay characters at the time, and I seem to recall Ned getting a girlfriend.  It also states that Devon is gay in real life, but he's married to a woman, so probably not.

I don't even think that someone who was 13 years old when the show began had a major role in pushing the boundaries of Nickelodeon homophobia.  Let's see if Devon has done anything gay-inclusive since.  

After the School Survival Guide, Devon capitalized on his teencom fame with Shredderman Rules Christmas in Paradise, and Love at First Hiccup, where his characters win the Girls of their Dreams.

Seven episodes of Greek, a drama about a college fraternity.  He played Peter Parkes, aka "Spidey," a new pledge in Season 4. 

In the 2010s, he moved into thrillers with Beneath the Darkness, about a group of teens trying to find their friend's murderer, and The Wicked, about a group of teens fighting a witch.

California Scheming sounds like a comedy, but it's actually a thriller: "A teen seductress pulls three other privileged Malibu kids into her devious scheme, and unforeseen consequences force the group to face their own fears and mortality." Sounds awful, but at least it gives us an underwear bulge.  

The guy running away with him is Spencer Daniels.

According to the reviews, Sundown (2016) starts out a teen sex comedy and turns dark.  Plus it's "strictly offensive...trans- and homophobic and downright degrading, according to the L.A. Times.  Devon and his buds show their butts during a "gay panic" scene.

More after the break

Sounds like Devon is highly homophobic.  But then, how do you explain this ad for an episode of his podcast, or his tweet in 2023 complaining that he got backlash for having a gay guest on his podcast: "Are we back in the 90s?  How many gay friends are still dealing with this shit?"  He's an ally who stars in homophobic movies?

So far we've got one butt shot and no dick, but at least Devon gets tied up as yet another frat boy in Where's the Money, 2017.

Another butt shot, in Crown Vic, 2019.

No gay characters, that I can find.  Rather disappointing, Devon.

No penis shots, but like many straight guys, Devon likes to pretend that he's in love with his male friends. In this case, he's locked in an embrace with podcast guest Nolan Gould, formerly Luke of Modern Family. How about a photo of Nolan's penis?

See also:

Modern Family Episode 5.7: Gay stereotyping, traditional gender roles, Adam Devine, and a nude Dylan.

Malibu Rescue: Richard Hurtado hits the beach