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Stephen told Radio 1 Newsbeat: "For me, it's just me being me and I don't think there should be a real big issue about the whole thing anyway. I just think it's just a beautiful video and I think it works superbly for the song."

And he's not wrong. I'm not even a big Boyzone fan and I like the video a lot. The interesting thing is that it comes at a time when the issue of acceptance and tolerance of the love between two people of the same sex is becoming a hot topic again, after a period of relative calm.

This time last year, there was a row around the Christmas classic Pogues song 'Fairytale Of New York', which uses a common term of abuse for gay men as an insult to a drunk man, from a drunk woman. At the time, it seemed a strange thing to get upset about, because there's no real homophobic intent to the lyrics, it's two characters being nasty to each other after too much to drink (and isn't that what Christmas is all about anyway? It is in my house!).

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Mind you, it was also possible to have a star like Mika who tried to play the "am I gay? Am I not? Isn't the tension THRILLING?" card, and very few people gave a fig either way.

Since then we've had The Katy Perry Conundrum, we've had The John Barrowman Lack Of Brouhaha (he's bisexual! In Dr Who! I KNOW!!!), we've had California adopting , which basically bans gay marriage, and we've had the Hollyoaks Gay Storyline Collapse Situation.

Now Eminem is about to make a return to the world of music, and one of his collaborators has decided he needs to speak out about homosexuality.

Trick Trick is a well-respected rapper and producer. He's clearly someone whose criminal past has formed a lot of his opinions - he talks a lot of sense about respect, consequences and responsibility, for example - and it would be wrong to make any judgements based on his thoughts on one issue alone. It would also be wrong to assume that anything that he has to say about this equates to anything Eminem has to say.

But.

Here's what he told AllHipHop magazine about his latest album (not Eminem's): "I'ma go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album. Fa****s hate me and I don't give a f***. I don't want your fa**** money any goddam way. I don't like it.

"It's just that every time that you turn on the the TV, that sissy s*** is on. And they act like it's f* okay. The world is changing for the worst when s*** like that happen. And I address that issue. I address it hard as hell..."

Hard as hell, stupid as hell, potato, potahto...

Now here's Trick Trick talking some of that sense I was talking about earlier, to balance things out:

"If you want respect from me just be respectful. If you respect yourself you'll respect everything around you. You gotta be respectful. Because, once a person respect themselves they'll respect others. And when you respect others you'll get that respect back. If more people in this world would learn to respect themselves and how to respect other people we wouldn't have as many problems as we do now."

See that? Give respect, get respect. Which means Trick Trick is officially part of the problem AND part of the solution. If only he could put these two things together in his mind, somehow.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry - who didn't so much stir up a hornets' nest as hit it with wrecking ball - has had to endure criticism from both sides of the fence. Her own mother doesn't like 'I Kissed A Girl', you see.

Mary Hudson, mother of Katy and a Christian evangelist, told the Daily Record: "I hate the song. It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting. Katy knows how I feel. We are a very outspoken family and she knows how disappointed her father and I are. I can't even listen to that song. The first time I heard it I was in total shock. When it comes on the radio I bow my head and pray."

Which is unfortunate for Katy, because some gay campaigners also have a problem with that song, and Katy's emo-boyfriend blast 'UR So Gay', because they feel she's dredging up a whole heap of trouble which is not HER trouble to dredge up, and making money off the back of it.

Not that Katy sees it that way. She has defended 'UR So Gay', saying that it uses the word in a context which does not mean homosexual*. Which is what the Pogues did too, thinking about it.

She certainly didn't use it like they did in the '20s, when it meant happy and jolly, so it's hardly a compliment either way.

She said: "You know those relationships where it takes like nine months to dump someone? It was like that. I was home last winter, and my roommate and I were having dinner. I didn't have a chorus for the song, but I played her the verse. I said, 'I don't even know what to say. He's just so gay.' She's like, 'why don't you just say that?' I said, 'Thank you, that's what I'm gonna say.' It's about guys with guy-liner that use flat irons."

Yeah, those effeminate men are RUBBISH, aren't they? Pansies!

Suddenly there are a LOT of judgements flying around. Strong judgements, in high-profile situations. And these are forcing people on every side of the debate to make equally strong decisions about how they feel, as if they have every right to pass judgement on other people's lives, and that these judgements should actually be taken up by society at large.

No-one is going to win, you realise. Homosexuality used to be against the law, and men and women still fell in love with men and women. Now it isn't, and the same things happen. Shouting about it is only going to give you ulcers. As is shouting about the people who shout about it. And shouting about the people who shout about the people who shout about it is a snake-eating-its-own-tail nightmare that doesn't even bear thinking about.

One thing is for sure. Rock music, pop music, almost ALL music since Rock 'n' Roll (and even further back) has always been a melting pot of black, white, gay and straight influences. It's a place where people come together as equals, and to use it as a soapbox for intolerant thought misses the point entirely.

Or to put it another way, if you want respect, you give respect. Right, Mr Trick, sir?

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* To bring the whole story back to the beginning. I once hosted a web-chat with Stephen Gately, not long after he came out publicly. One of the questions we had in illustrated the two different uses of the g-word in a brilliantly concise (but not very friendly) way.

It simply read "why are you gay, you gay?"

Needless to say, we didn't ask, in the end...