Shankman is responding to a boycott that has been suggested by a journalist who feels that John Travolta should not be playing a woman in the film. Travolta plays Edna Turnblad, a gay icon, which does not sit well with Kevin Naff of the gay newspaper Washington Blade.
Shankman is shocked at Naff’s proposal of a boycott, saying that Travolta has no probelms with homosexuals. He said, "I am stunned this has gotten that far. He (Naff) has made the dumbest claims on the entire planet. Everybody involved in Hairspray – all the creators are gay. So John has no problem with people being gay – me, the writers, composer, John Waters – all gay. John’s personal beliefs never walked onto my set. I never heard the word Scientology".