‘Two and a Half Men’ gay adoption plot ‘isn’t meant to offend’

Two and a Half Men’s

executive producer has defended the show’s “gay” adoption storyline.

The upcoming storyline on the long-running US sitcom will show central character Walden (Ashton Kutcher), who is straight, proposing to raise a child with Alan (Jon Cryer), who is also straight, while going through an “existential crisis”.

The storyline has caused controversy in some quarters, with critics claiming it diminishes the gay rights movement. The show’s executive producer, Chuck Lorre, has now hit back at the criticism, while admitting that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the storyline offended people.

“You’re going to see two men who are not gay but are going to raise a child with a great deal of love and attention,” Lorre told The Hollywood Reporter.

“No offence is intended, and I hope none is taken. We’ve always been somewhat of an offensive show, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this is going to be offending people. We can’t go out with dignity, because we’ve never had any.”

Meanwhile, Jon Cryer, whose character Alan will be at the heart of the storyline, insisted that the team behind the sitcom doesn’t want to “cheapen the struggle” LGBT people have gone through in acquiring adoption and marriage rights.

“They are doing this for the right reason, but they’re taking advantage of something that was obviously fought for very hard by the LGBT community,” he said. “I felt like comedically, it was a fun idea. Obviously we don’t want to cheapen the struggle that people have been going through.”

Two and a Half Men returns for its final season in September on US network CBS. In the UK, the show airs on Comedy Central.