Lea Michele, 24, Agron, 24, and Cory Monteith, 28, posed for a series of raunchy shots with notorious photographer Terry Richardson.
But following criticism from parents groups in America who called the photos 'borderline paedophilia', Agron has apologised for the shoot in a long statement on her blog, pleading: 'These photos do not represent who I am.'
And she admitted that she herself was not keen on the sexy schoolgirl theme of the shoot.
She says: 'In the land of Madonna, Britney, Miley, Gossip Girl, other public figures and shows that have pushed the envelope and challenged the levels of comfort in their viewers and fans…we are not the first.
'Now, in perpetuating the type of images that evoke these kind of emotions, I am sorry. If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention.'
But her apology then took a tone which may further upset concerned parents in the post.
She questioned the fact that young children might have access to the magazine and the raunchy photos saying: 'If your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?'
'I understand that in today’s world of advanced technology, the internet, our kids can be subject to very adult material at the click of a button. But there are parental locks, and ways to get around this.'
The 24-year-old actress described herself as a 'pretty tame and easy-going girl..'.
And she admitted she herself had doubts about the over-sexualised schoolgirl theme suggested. She explained: 'They asked us to play very heightened versions of our school characters. A Hit Me Baby One More Time version.
'At the time, it wasn’t my favorite idea, but I did not walk away.'
She conceded: 'Nobody is perfect, and these photos do not represent who I am.'
'Glee is a show that represents the underdogs, which is a feeling I have embraced much of my own life, and to those viewers, the photos in GQ don’t give them that same feeling. I understand completely,' she added.
In the photoshoot, co-star Lea Michele poses in micro-mini white knickers, thigh-high blue and white striped socks, all the while pulling down her shirt to expose her bra and cleavage.
In another, she sucks suggestively on a lollipop while leaning up against a school locker.
Despite the fact that all three cast mates are over the age of 21, the row stems from the fact they are shot as their high school characters.
The Parents Television Council released a statement condemning GQ for publishing the pictures.
'It is disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualising the actresses who play high school-aged characters on Glee in this way.
'It borders on paedophilia. Sadly, this is just the latest example of the overt sexualisation of young girls in entertainment.'
But GQ is standing by its decision to run the pictures and interview.
Editor-in-chief Jim Nelson said: 'The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy.
'As often happens in Hollywood, these "kids" are in their twenties. Cory Monteith is almost 30! I think they're old enough to do what they want.'
Co-star Agron, who plays cheerleader Quinn Fabray, also features in the shoot, at one point wearing a sexy cheerleader outfit with a barely there skirt and red high heels.
Further on in the magazine, Michele sits on the shoulders of Monteith - who plays school football star Finn Hudson in the show - while Agron leans up against him, both girls exposing their bras.
And on the front cover, the actor looks as though he can't believe his luck, a cheeky smirk on his face as he places his hands on both girls' bottoms.
The sexy shoot comes as the storylines in the new series of the show - set to air in the UK early next year - start hotting up.
Having dealt with such controversial issues as teen pregnancy in its first series, US viewers were treated to a steamy scene between cheerleaders Brittany and Santana in the episode which aired last week.
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