Adam Lambert is a singing contest winner with an absurd haircut. Before Sunday, that was all I knew about him. Then he performed at a music awards show that is not the Grammys and everyone got mad. Good Morning America, which airs on the same network that carried the American Music Awards, canceled his appearance. The Early Show, CBS's perpetual third-place morning also-ran, jumped at the sudden vacancy in Lambert's schedule with hopes of riding the wave of "scandal" into, well, maybe a slightly less-than-third-place ratings bump. Except that at the end of the interview, Lambert looked good and The Early Show folks looked like idiots.
Aside from the stupid haircut, Lambert was impressive during the interview. He was charming, self-deprecating, and well-spoken. He also had the virtue of being right. He mentioned that there were plenty of other artists at the AMAs who put on racy performances, and that his appearance aired at 11pm in front of an audience of adults. He also admitted that he suspects the outrage over his performance is due to the fact that he is a man, and openly gay. Which, duh. Remember when the Video Music Awards, Britney Spears, and Madonna were all relevant? And Britney got within a few square inches of cloth of all-out stripping? And then made out with Madonna? Everyone was like, "Oh, cool." Lambert should be applauded for not apologizing, and defending his performance. The performance was silly, and the haircut has got to go, but he didn't do anything grotesque, or offensive, or whatever.
So that leaves CBS. The "Straight Talk" banner displayed on-screen was bad enough. And the questions, which used phrases like "without warning" and "children who are your fans" to describe a musical number, made Lambert's performance sound like a sex crime. When showing footage of the act, they blurred out all the "controversial" parts, like when Lambert stage-kissed a backup dancer. It seemed that The Early Show was caught between wanting to improve its numbers by having Lambert on, but also wanted to make it clear that they did not approve of their guest in any way. Nothing they did was surprising, but that doesn't make it less annoying. Watch the segment for yourself in the clip below.
Comments (39)
So Adam Lambert is gay he kissed a man on stage, yadda yadda etc. Those facts i have no problem with, and i also definitely don't think he should apologise for being openly gay I mean, it's 2009, get with the new program pple! What he should apologise for though, is the overall choreography of his performance - the whole thing looked so tacky! If he wanted to kiss another man, fine do it, just add more thought to it instead of making it come off like a cheap attempt to shock and thrill. He could've done better.
well said bethwv well said.
Television is airing soft porn more each year, and it is sickening. There is a place for sex and let me inform the world that it is behind closed doors and SHOULD BE between a man and a woman. There is no right in airing it on television no matter who the so-called celebrity is. Just because we have the right to free speech does not mean everything said or done IS right. Common sense.
People are morons!! They say it's not about him being gay but it's the only thing it's about. People nowdays are ashamed of being ***fobs, that's why the don't admit to it. I am not outraged over what he did only over the reaction of the people, there shouldn't been a reaction what so ever. If people are ***fobs they shouldn't lie about it just because they are ashamed of it, ***fobia is treated like racism nowdays and no one in his right mind will admit to racism unless he is a member of Arian brotherhood or something. They are ashamed of ***fobia because they know it is wrong, they still have to explain their reaction so they lie about it and blame it on something else.
I don't really know who Adam Lambert is and I am not gay However I am sure we need more people like Adam so we see more things like that and get used to it. Getting used is the only way to cure ***fobia. Even I was a ***fob like 10 years ago when I was younger, but I am used to it by now. Almost everybody knows somebody who is gay and they often are good people. I feel sorry when I read things like this, it's 2009 and it shouldn't be hard to be gay It's natures own way ta handle over population. There are animals that are homosexual to so it's not exclusive to humans.....moreless
I don't really know him (I'm from The netherlands), but i have heard of him though, but he's right!! He shouldn't apologize! It's like she wants him to say he's sorry! WTF! If it was on at 11pm...parents shouldn't be shocked or whatever. And was it thaty shocking??? lol NO!
He shouldn't apologize. If a male and female couple had done this, nothing would be said. What about the Madonna/Britany kiss a few years back.AAnd to think GMA wouldn't have him on but they are having the Rhianna beater, Chris Brown on??
in greys anotomey to girls kiss all the time.
in im a celebrity there is two gay guys that are married.
we see it on tv all the time!!
what the hell is the big deal ??
here look im a teenager and i did not care about adam kissing a guy.
seriously what is every body going on about ?? its just a kiss!!!!
i thought adam made some really important points about how female performers are allowed to do much more than male performers who happen to be gay.i think the public and people who are making a huge deal about this showed grow up and cop on.it was on at 11 o clock so children should not be watching its as simple as that.
love adam and he rocks!!!
adam did nothing wrong and does not need to apolgise
And I find it funny that they ask about kids when it was late.... wtf.. are they doing... over and over again... they don't have anything else.. but that he is gay sad.
It's just PR. Can't you see it. He will get people that hate him and in the end LOVE him. I think he is great and soon you also will. Haha.
Ew. Disgusting. And it has nothing to do with his sexual orientation.
I totally agree with Adam Lambert. I thought his performance was amazing and there was nothing wrong with it. And I also agree about his vocals. He was way way better on Idol. I hope to see more performances like this in the future.
your article made me LOL. Anyway yea, the interview was awesome and his vocals were spot on
I love Adam Lambert.. I just wish he wasnt gay Im reallly not sure if you are for or against him, but i dont care. He's soooo much better than Kris.Force Factor
This scandal is probably the most blown out thing as of right now :) ... I was going to say ever, but lets face it, Jon and Kate... need I say more... but anyways back to the subject at hand. I don't watch american idol, but since everyone and their mom talks about it, I know about certain people, and so I know adam lambert was the second runner up... blah blah, but now everyone is talking about him all because of a performance which truelly wasn't that scandalist... I think he is every bit right about there being a double standerd for outwardly gay men showing their sexuality vs everyone else, well more like female artist... britney spears and madonna. And even though I don't care for his music, I am completely on board with him because I think it is time we stop having a double standard.moreless
He should NOT BE SORRY! You see women proforming on stage all the time, hitting each other's butts, grinding like they are doing a pole dance and no one says a thing about it. Now, let one gay man kiss another one and everyone is having a hissy fit. Have it all, or have nothing...
I've never liked Adam Lambert, I don't think he can sing. That being said, I don't think there was anything worse about his performance than any other of the night. If you're going to be outraged by Adam, then just like he said, you should be outraged by all the other performers that night and not just that night but pretty much going back to Madonna's "Like A Virgin." Truth is these are the types of performances we as an audience crave and the only reason people are upset is because he's a gay guy. I may buy his CD just to support him even though I don't like his vocals.
It's amazing...a majority of the American public is fine with the high levels of violence on tv, but when it comes to sex (a natural and beatiful part of life) the American public squirms...whether it's a 3-way on Gossip Girl or Adam's performance at the AMA's, some people seem to have an aversion to sex...it's silly, and Adam was right, people are crticizing his performance at the AMA's, but not any of the other performers that night that were controversial...people can be such judgemental hypocrites...it's not suprising though...it's usually the Jerry Falwell's of the world that are preaching morality one minute and meeting hookers in hotels rooms a minute later, lol
It comes down to this, if the performance was the same but with men and women instead of men and men, would you still be offended? If the answer is yes, then ok you are fine to be offended by it, if the answer is no, they are just prejudice and should shut up now!
Here's the thing: I am no Adam Lambert fan. Not because I don't believe he has talent, but I believe he is selling himself (literally) short with his extreme presentations. He should question the goals of those who are managing him. But he did have a valid argument in this intervew. There is a reverse double standard going on here. We women have complained for years about the suppositions the way we dress or talk or walk engenders, and is this incident not highlighting the same thing?CBS, not surprisingly, looks like a tool once again. So does ABC. Having said that, shock value does not ultimately achieve the desired goal, and Adam my friend, if your peers in the news have not proven that fact to you, then perhaps you should consult with your management as to their researched sources in deciding on this course of professional action for you, and question their motivations...moreless
reading some of this crap is like being back in the middle ages. why is being gay so threatening to you? i have gay friends, know gay people at work and they are exactly like everybody else. some are nice some are stupid most are okay. and if hetero performers can do racy things on stage then so should homosexual performers. stop being afraid and get on with your own lives people, is what I'm saying.
that was rude and uncalled for . Adam should be ashamed of himself.I liked him when he was on American Idol,now I lost all respect for him,and will never!!!!! buy one of his cd's. so be it if he's gay.keep it behind closed doors.
I've never listened to Lambert, and I'm not a fan but I think he's right. He did nothing wrong, the viewers at home had the option to turn off the TV and everything and he generally should not have to apologize. He admitted that he had to clean it up a bit, and work on sticking to what they practiced during rehearsals, but adrenaline is a big factor in everything. Good for him for sticking up for himself :).
You're right, CBS did look like idiots.
Whaa...whaa...whaa...keep crying your career away. Thank God his 15 minutes are up. If he was smart, he'd just take the criticism and improve his show.
Doing interviews is such a difficult, risky thing. There are times when you come across as a hard hitting journalist pressing the issues and there are times when you get your posterior handed to you by an American Idol contestant. Live and learn. For the record, the guy is absolutely right. If overly sexual, distasteful musical performances were unfit for network television there wouldn't be any musical performances on network television. Seeding ***phobia, again, gets the best of the American society. And you had just finished solving that racism thing. Such a pity.
I actually thought the performance was a little boring and predictable.Apparently America hates gay people more than I thought.
He has a point, but the performance was still awful. It was awkward, overdone, off key, forced, and the whole thing with shoving that male dancer into his groin was revolting. I don't care that he's gay or that he kissed another guy. Big whoop. Today's culture has already desensitized the majority of the population to that anyways. I really felt the performance as a whole was awful and tasteless and I've often thought that about Brittney Spears and Madonna as well. I am not okay with an overly sexual performance regardless of the sex of the individual. Thank you very much.
Oh My lord
his performance was absolutely disgusting, he has to control himself, people really do not want to see that
Just shows you he don't have much morals. His parents should be proud NOT!!!
he is right...he is not a baby sitter...parents should stop using the TV to keep their occupied...if your young child is going to watch, sit with them and explain what is being seen or turn it off. wake up people!
meh...everyone is all like "the kids man, blah bah what about the kids" just one word can destroy your small and young justification for the outrage...Internet
He should apologize, that was distasteful; just because performers did similar things prior to this doesn't mean he has to..
Good for Lambert.
AGREED! Sheesh, to the interviewer: GIVE IT A REST! He's not going to apologize, he's not a babysitter. Love him. Never have listened to him before but I'm a fan now.
Lambert shouldn't be sorry. Was it a performance for the "Disney Channel" awards? Nope, and it wasn't meant to be.. Haven't Madonna, Brittney, and about 10,000 lesser singers been hawking sex moves as dancing numbers for years? Yep, and raking in the moolah. Double standard for the gay guy? Looks that way from here. And I'm with you on the hair; I liked the emo/rock cut much better.
Shame on you for having Adam Lambert on after his disgusting so called "performance" on the AMA show. In trying to grab the attention and the $ you have lost many viewers. It has nothing to do with him being gay It was just plain revolting!!! I will NEVER watch anything he is on again.
Good for him, there's sexually charged stuff on TV all the time. The only reason people are up in arms is because he's gay