"It made me look like I was performing a lewd act when I wasn't at all." - Model Ben Massing on his homophobia-tinged lawsuit against gay magazine Genre. [WESH]

Now that you've read about Ben Massing's homophobia-laden lawsuit against Genre magazine — for supposedly using his picture and depicting him as gay, the horror! — how would you rule if you were the judge overseeing this case?

After reading about Massing's lawsuit, be sure to go here and vote how you would rule in the case.

Model Ben Massing sent us a note this week insisting he's not a homophobe, charges he incurred after suing gay magazine Genre for running sexually suggestive pictures of him without his permission. Wrote Massing via an attorney:

Numerous media outlets focused on the fact that the images appear in a publication geared toward the gay community. Based upon these reports, some have mischaracterized me as homophobic, which could not be further from the truth.

We were beginning to feel a bit bad about this Massing business, but then we obtained a copy of his lawsuit against Genre and photographer Rick Day and it's one of the most blatantly homophobic documents we've read in a long, long time.

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Genre editor Neal Boulton confirmed that he's working on two pilots for MTV. Scary, right? While we're on the subject of Boulton - we've emailed him three times about the Ben Massing scandal and have heard nary a word. That's very unlike Boulton, a man known for his press-loving ways. [Update: Both Boulton and Genre publisher William Kapfer claim they have heard nothing about the Massing lawsuit.] [Gawker]

Ben Massing, the model suing gay rag Genre, released the following statement this morning:

Last week I filed a lawsuit in New York based on the unauthorized use, distribution, and publication of my image. One of the photographs was cropped and altered to make me look nude and included my contact information.

Numerous media outlets focused on the fact that the images appear in a publication geared toward the gay community. Based upon these reports, some have mischaracterized me as homophobic, which could not be further from the truth.

The real issue is that I never signed a release or gave permission to use or alter my pictures for adult-themed media. No matter what community the publication attracts, the use of my image in a sexually explicit way without my permission violated my rights.

It seems to us Massing should center his lawsuit around the publication of his personal information. Aside from copyright issues, the image matter becomes a bit hazy: someone who poses in their undies should expect to be objectified - especially when said person looks so good!

Not all the gays are hating on Ben Massing, the model who's suing Genre magazine for their "lewd" portrayal of his rippling body and revealing personal details.

Jeff Woodward, the association publisher for New York bar rag Next, sent us the following note yesterday:

Ben's a friend of mine… and straight… but as far as you can get from homophobic. I met him a few years ago. He is a Florida friend of Next's owner's boyfriend who is also from Florida. He would always hang around the Next offices when he was up in NYC doing shoots and auditions and all the boys here loved him.

I haven't spoken to him in a while, but can assure you he's not the idiotic homophobe he's being portrayed as. He's a sweet funny kid who is going to go far. He knows the gay boys like to look at him and could care less about how that is perceived.

That's good, because a lot of people are mad at him at the moment.

Ladies and gentleman, meet the new Josh Peters. You remember our former Morning Goods selection, who complained about "finding myself on these stupid gay sites"? Now Genre magazine is facing a similar scenario with straight model, aspiring actor, University of Central Florida student, and former Queerty Morning Goods choice Benjamin Massing, who was featured in the magazine's March/April issue and says the "cruel and vulgar" shot has subjected him to unwanted advances and harassment from gay men. So he's taking Genre and photographer Rick Day to court, claiming invasion of privacy.

Supposedly, Massing wanted the photos for his personal portfolio, and never expected to see them published. Except, as is the case with most model-photographer relationships, if Massing signed a standard release form, he's got no case, since he would have signed off on allowing photographer Day to use the pictures.

Of course, this isn't really a case about Massing being displeased that his photo was published. It's that his photo was published in a gay magazine, and that the gay readers liked what they saw. Worth noting: Massing has posed for Abercrombie & Fitch, a veritable magnet for the attention of gay men.

Or maybe we're wrong? You tell us. Should a model like Massing be able to dictate what types of publications he appears is? Or do industry rules, and his signing a release, say his picture is fair game for anyone to use?

Twenty-year old model Ben Massing studies molecular biology. Could there be anything more perfect?