Billy Crystal has had to explain further what he meant over the weekend when he said that scenes between gay characters on television are “pushing it a little too far” for him. The legendary comedian now says that he was just talking about gratuitous nudity in general.

Crystal was speaking at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena to give details on his new FX show, The Comedians. Considering that he played one of the first gay characters on American television on Soap in the late 1970s, he was asked about the representation of gays on TV today.

“Sometimes I think: 'Ah that's too much for me,’” Crystal reportedly said. “Sometimes, it’s just pushing it a little too far for my taste and I’m not going to reveal to you which ones they are. I hope people don't abuse it and shove it in our face to the point where it feels like an every-day kind of thing.”

Since those comments raised a few eyebrows on the Internet Monday, Crystal sent a statement to The Hollywood Reporter to clarify what he meant.

“What I meant was that whenever sex or graphic nudity of any kind (gay or straight) is gratuitous to the plot or story it becomes a little too much for my taste,” Crystal said.

In Crystal’s full comments from the panel, the comedian explained that it was a bit awkward to film scenes with his co-star, Bob Seagren, who played his character’s boyfriend, in front of a live audience because the audience might laugh.

“See, I did it in front of a live audience, and there were times where I would say to Bob, ‘I love you,’ and the audience would laugh nervously, because, you know, it’s a long time ago, that I’d feel this anger,” Crystal later said at the panel, THR notes. “I wanted to stop the tape and go, ‘What is your problem?’ Because it made you sort of very self-conscious about what we were trying to do then. And now it’s just I see it and I just hope people don’t abuse it and shove it in our face, well, that sounds terrible to the point of it just feels like an everyday kind of thing.”

Crystal’s new series starts on Apri 9 on FX.

image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com