When Ian rejects Susan's column the night before the magazine is to be printed, Susan is unable to think of another topic. To help inspire herself, she writes a long parody of Nate's negative attitude towards gay people and circulates it among the office staff. Unfortunately, Ian gets a copy of the offensive article and, bored by the mundane replacement that Susan stayed up all night to write, prints the parody as Susan's opinion. Soon, gay people picket the magazine's offices, and powerful gay-owned businesses refuse to advertise in The Gate. Susan is vilified. When a gay activist smashes a pie in Susan's face, she develops an allergic rash and must withdraw from a trip with Oliver, who plans to travel to a Caribbean island to photograph models. Since Susan also cancelled a date with Oliver due to the article deadline, he thinks that she is jittery about her relationship with him. Angry, he takes Luis with him instead. Later, Ian orders Susan to reconcile with the gay community before
