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Derek Hough: I'm Not Gay, Though I Almost Played One on TV

Find out why the blond hoofer wanted to play a same-sex-lovin' character on Cougar Town

By Marc Malkin Nov 02, 2009 9:55 PMTags
Joanna Krupa, Derek Hough, Dancing with the Stars, DWTSABC/ADAM LARKEY

It's good to know that Derek Hough can laugh at all those rumors that he's gay.

So much so that he was thisclose to playing a gay character "in a funny little scene" with Courteney Cox on her new hit ABC series Cougar Town. Unfortunately, he couldn't do it because of his Dancing With the Stars schedule.

"It would have been perfect," Hough said. "With all the rumors going around, I thought it would be really funny because it's just not true. But I was like, you know what? If that's what you want to see."

Not so funny, however, was Hough's recent battle with the flu...

He said he tested negative for swine flu, but he has his doubts. "It was pretty hard-core," Hough said. "I've had the flu hundreds of times, and I've always been able to work through it. But this one, I couldn't."

But he's back. Not only does he dance tonight with his celebrity partner, Playboy model Joanna Krupa, but he and best buddy Mark Ballas will make their singing debut with their band on DWTS during tomorrow's results show.

"I'm doing double duty," Hough said about rehearsing with Krupa and Ballas. "Yesterday, I started at 8 a.m., and I didn't stop until 9 p.m. It was a pretty hard-core day."