US comedian and talk show host Jay Leno has come under fire from gay viewers after he asked actor Ryan Phillippe to give him his "gayest look" in a live TV interview last week. Phillippe revealed on Leno's Tonight Show that his first paid acting role was playing a gay teenager on the soap One Life To Live. "Can you give me your gayest look?" responded Leno. "Say that camera is Billy Bob ... Billy Bob has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming." "Wow," replied a visibly uncomfortable Phillippe. "That is so something I don't want to do." The joke backfired on the talk show host, as offended gay viewers immediately took to their keyboards to email TV chiefs and complain on their blogs. A reactionary website called My Gayest Look was set up for those troubled by Leno's remark to respond with their visual reaction (link is below). Leno has now apologised for the remarks. "In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong," he said in a statement. "I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."