“Tonight Show's” host Jay Leno, apologized yesterday to Gay Nation, which he managed to annoy ever since he asked guest Ryan Phillippe, who played a homosexual on the soap “One Life to Live,” to give him his “gayest look.”

Jay Leno, 57, issued a statement Tuesday saying he was sorry for the gay jokes he did last week. “In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say and I apologize,” he said quoted by E! Online.

During the show, Leno asked Phillippe to pretend that the camera was his “gay lover.” “Say that camera is your gay lover…Can you give me your gayest look? Say that camera is Billy Bob [Thornton]—Billy Bob has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming.” The 33-year-old actor felt quite uncomfortable due to Leno’s remarks. “That is so something I don't want to do. Are you just going to embarrass me tonight?” Philippe said.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) named the remarks as “a misguided use of adolescent humor” and mentioned that they were “proud of Ryan for refusing to participate in Leno's thoughtless attempt at humor.”

“Under the guise of comedy, the talk show host is demonstrating a lack of respect for the gay community and insensitivity to both his coworkers and the audience, to whom he owes an apology,” GLAAD president, Neil G. Giuliano declared.

The scene was far from a joke for Tony-winning “Avenue Q” playwright Jeff Whitty, who posted on his blog photos with his “gayest look”, an extended middle finger. He also wrote, “Would you ask a guest to make their ‘blackest face?’ Their ‘Jewiest face’?”

“Gay jokes are not harmless; they contribute to a culture in which institutionalized homophobia has tragic consequences. We want Jay Leno to know that we, LGBTQ people and their allies, are not amused,” Whitty concluded.