Say hello to the Glee version of radio silence, where facts, rumors, innuendos and half-truths intermingle to form a complete wall of self-promotion (and you thought Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were bad). Just a little over a week after saying that he should tone down the Glee press onslaught, Murphy can't seem to help but fan the flames himself -- in fact, the executive producer has unfurled enough Glee rumors in the last 48 hours to populate fansites for a week.
He confirmed Britney Spears would appear as a guest star (with the semi-modifier "I think 100%"); he talked about how he'd love to do a Michael Jackson episode (despite the fact that he can't get the musical rights); and he even threw Justin Bieber's name into the mix. "I think he's so phenomenally talented and I think he's great," Murphy told Access Hollywood. "So, yes, if he was interested I would make that happen." Apparently in Murphy's mind, invoking Bieber Fever is a way to lower the hype.
OK, so yes: Murphy is doing press rounds to support Eat, Pray, Love, his post-Glee-fame directorial effort with Julia Roberts, and the guy has to say something about his highly lucrative day job when reporters ask. Still, the constant open faucet of Glee news is overexposure to the nth degree, something Murphy was clearly concerned with when he told Vulture he wasn't planning on doing "a lot [of PR] until the Emmy awards." Maybe he was kidding.
It could just be that the outspoken showrunner needs to take some lessons in tongue-holding from Matthew Weiner, who refuses to spoil even the most banal details of Mad Men. Short of that though, it probably wouldn't hurt for Murphy to follow his own advice. It's inevitable that a pop culture phenomenon like Glee is already going to face backlash as it heads into season two -- why should Murphy keep priming the pump with all this hype?