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Loading ...Lambert says he got carried away, but not sorry
(New York) Adam Lambert admits he got carried away with his sexually charged American Music Awards performance, but he’s offering no apology.
The glam rocker from “American Idol” said on “The Early Show” that his performance would not have caused as much controversy if he weren’t openly gay. He also said there were other “adult” moments on the show that caused no outrage.“I admit I did get carried away, but I don’t see anything wrong with it,” he said Wednesday. “I do see how people got offended and that was not my intention. My intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it.”
Lambert kissed a male keyboard player, dragged a female dancer around by the ankles and had a dancer simulate oral sex on him while performing “For Your Entertainment,” a song with a sexual edge. ABC received many complaints about the performance and that network’s morning show, “Good Morning America,” canceled Lambert’s scheduled appearance on Wednesday because it said it couldn’t trust what he would do.
“The Early Show” on CBS, perennially third in a three-network morning show race, happily gave him a platform and milked it – interviewing him, having him interact with fans and asking him to sing. One of the show’s hosts, Harry Smith, tied the flap to rock history, noting that camera operators were only allowed to shoot Elvis Presley from the waist up during a network TV appearance generations ago.
Lambert admitted he didn’t rehearse some of the more risque elements of his award show performance – a point that particularly upset ABC, which said it was taken by surprise by what he did. In the future, he said he’d try to get these issues cleared before the show.
But he noted that Lady Gaga smashed whiskey bottles during her performance, Eminem rapped about rape and Janet Jackson briefly groped a male dancer.
“Janet Jackson, crotch grab,” he said. “I haven’t heard one peep about that.”
He said that “if it had been a female pop performer doing (his) moves that were on the stage, I don’t think there would be nearly as much of an outrage.”
“I think it’s because I’m a gay male,” he added.
Offered a chance to apologize, he declined. He said he didn’t consider that there may have been children watching because his American Music Awards performance came at nearly 11 p.m., and that it’s a parent’s job to monitor what their children are watching on TV.
“I’m not a baby sitter,” he said. “I’m a performer.”
Asked what he’d do differently if he had the chance, Lambert said, “I would sing it a little bit better.”
“I guess I have a tendency to divide people,” he added. “Apples and oranges – you either like it or you don’t.”
“For Your Entertainment” is the title cut and first single from Lambert’s new album, which went on sale Monday. He didn’t perform that on “The Early Show,” opting instead for the songs “What Do You Want From Me” and “Music Again.”
He said before performing, “Parents, this is appropriate, I promise.”
Lambert took questions from fans surrounding CBS’ midtown Manhattan studio, including one who said she had traveled from Japan to see him. None of the questions were about Sunday’s performance.
His mother, Leila Lambert, came on stage between his two songs, and was asked what she thought of her son at the American Music Awards.
“I was a little taken aback,” she said. “But, you know, I just went with the flow. It’s all good.”
“I am pleased that I have good friendships and a nice social life away from home to further reduce my dependence on TV.”
What this piece of self worth has to do with Lambert is beyond me.
James
I had no problem with his performance. I agree with his statement he is not a babysitter from the start it was clear his performance was going to be racy that was the point parents should have changed the channel or sent the kiddies to bed. I don’t think this will hurt people imagine of gay marriage. Fact is most people in this country do not support gay marriage. We can see this by the fact that when ever gay marriage is proposed on a ballot for the most part it gets voted down. Goodness MJ use to grab his crotch and gyrate. There have been other radical/racy performances. As said Janet Jackson apparently grabbed some guys crotch at this AMC. That seems no worse or better then AL putting a guys head to his crotch.
As anyone bothered to accuse GMA of homophobia? America needs to see more same-sex kissing on mainstream television, esp male on male, to challenge and break the stigma and double standard just as Lambert said.
I didn’t see the show, but over the past two days have had both glbt and straight friend ask me about it and my feelings. So I went and read the article…very disapointed.
I wasn’t raise to flount such things in public and although many straight people do such things and never seem to have repercusion, glbt people who do the exact same thing seem too. Well regardless of who is doing it, it shows a lack of respect for ones self and others.
If we want to get straights to take us seriously we need to stop saying and doing things that feed into their sterio tipical ideas of who we are. Stop and think before we open our mouths or act on a wim. If we want to receive equal rights we need to show those around us that we are equal…not off the wall, weird, or peverted as they beleive in their minds and hearts. Be the ambasadors of our “family” and make a difference.
This is in response to Jennifer’s other article on Adam, claiming, among other things, that he has hurt the cause of gay marriage:
http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=38948
now, the media is reporting that Adam’s antics have divided the community! So who’s actions are more hurtful? a Glam-rocker doing what he does, or a LGBTQ journalist indulging in her own homophobia to slam his actions? Should Adam let homophobes dictate what he does on TV? She is being quoted as being a spokeperson for the community. She doesn’t speak for me.
The double-standard that Jennifer Vanasco indulges here is shocking, and more offensive than anything a queer glam-rocker can put on stage. Basically, she’s putting the idea forward that we Queer people need to act more straight and moral so that Queer people can win the fight to get married. Considering that straight people have no moral “test” when they get married, and that the actions of sexually-charged rock & rollers of the last decades have had zero impact on hetero marriage, her argument is fatally flawed. She merely reinforces the homophobia that we are already coping with, and the whole misplaced concept of a “moral guage” that gets applied to us.
Adam is a glamrocker. What he did was take the standard rock & roll macho male swagger, and Queered it up. I say, about time! What he is achieving by taking a typically hetero male archetype and turning it on its head, is smart, political, and timely.
Remember – it was the outrageous Queens of the world that started fighting back first. Most of you owe what rights you have to people who refused to be anything other than what they truly were.
Adam rocks.
Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief of website 365gay.com, said his performance hurt the cause of gay marriage in the eyes of mainstream Americans “who think gay life is exactly what (he) portrayed on the American Music Awards HEY JENNIFER ITS NOT HIS JOB TO DEFEND GAY MARRIAGE, ITS YOURS..
No matter who or what we are, we are all representatives of ideas, of lifestyles, of belief systems, of political ideologies. As much as we might all like to deny it, simply by virtue of being famous and being gay, Adam Lambert is a representative of this “community.” Denying that doesn’t change it or nullify it. His representation is his own, but he is not alone in reaping the consequences of it. We do not live in our own private vacuums, separated from the impact of other people or their actions. The degree to which we consider other people is entirely a personal choice.
A quick note about Adam Lambert: anyone who does not want to be criticized or publicly ridiculed should not become famous.
The kiss was, in my opinion, the least of the problems with this performance, and the only real issue critics have to stand on (that being a double-standard between male and female homosexuality). Additionally, there are factual differences between this performance and the infamous Britney/Madonna kiss.
1. Britney and Madonna performed at the Video Music Awards which are shown only on cable/satellite television which must be paid for. Adam Lambert performed this at the American Music Awards which are aired on public, network television.
2. Adam Lambert admitted to improvising the most explicit portions of this performance; they were not included in the rehearsal and were therefore unknown by the producers.
This is stupid, stupid bullcrap and not worthy of as much attention as this website is paying it. Harvey Milk is writhing in his grave.
Wow. I thought I was misreading. The editor says Adam hurt the cause of gay marriage? I am so disgusted by your cowering weak attitude. Stand up for this brave young man. He is an artist who owes nothing to your agenda. I agree he went a little over the line on the AMA’s due to nerves (I was mostly concerned because his vocal was bad)…but he has stirred up an important conversation and exposed bigots and small minded apologists like you. All gay people are different as are straight people. To say Adam has to tone it down for middle America while a straight performer can do what they want is akin to Jews during WW2 being told to pass for gentile if they can. Don’t rock the boat. You have set the gay movement back 20 years with this double standard. Adam doesn’t have to be your idea of gay only his own. America please come into the 21rst century. Next you’ll be telling all lesbians to wear lipstick…act like them….the they’ll accept us. How’s that working for you so far. Not so good? I didn’t think so.
I find it disingenuous to create a poll in which EVERY option is a negative anti-Lambert one.
I liked the song – I liked the performance – I like Lambert. I don’t think his performance will do ONE SINGLE THING to affect the gay rights movement.
I’m just surprised that 365.gay chose to post a poll in which they only outcome will be the one they obviously want.
I still can’t find where Neff, as an editor of 365gay.com, said what is claimed. However, that’s not the point; the point made clear in last week’s actions was that gay male innuendo has a pricetag, which is apparently worse than rape, scatology, drunkenness, and dehumanization of women. I’d be sad to think all those complaints excluded those performances at the AMAs and I doubt they did; Adam was just the last act. He’ll be fine; children who watched Eminem and couldn’t understand a word he rapped ’cause it was bleeped won’t care since they already download that from elsewhere. That means it’s okay to have an opinion; it’s not okay to appear “offended” in a gay publication (“this just plays to our enemies”). And, I’ll raise the subject here: does an assertive gay male embarrass elderly lesbians?
RAH! RAH! Adam! Why is a kiss between 2 women okay and 2 men is not? This is total nonsense.
Whether he was gay or straight is immaterial. He crossed the line and doing so as a gay man reaffirms all the unfortunate stereotypes of gays. Pushing one’s gayness in the worlds face is not the right way to our being accepted.
Selective Justice.
Yhitzak Said: “As much as we might all like to deny it, simply by virtue of being famous and being gay, Adam Lambert is a representative of this “community.””
There was a time when I might have conceded that people could form an opinion about all gay people based on the behavior of one famous gay individual, but that time has long since passed. There are a number of gay celebrities now, portrayals of gay people on television and in films, and gay people out and proud in society. The only people who really believe that Adam Lambert’s behavior has any reflection on the gay “community” are the bigots who want to point to examples of our inherent immorality and the gay “community” itself.
Adam Lambert represents no one but himself. He owes nothing to this so-called gay “community”. He does not represent me, and nor would I want him to.
It’s time that the gay “community” got over the idea that it has to do everything it can to fight the stereotypes. It’s time that the gay “community” gets past the notion that it has to “conform” or “behave” in order to be accepted.
We’re not going to win equality by trying to convince the world that we’re all “normal”. There is no normal, especially in a “community” as diverse as ours. We will win equality because we ARE equal and sooner or later society MUST recognize that fact. In the meantime we will lose if every time one of us gets ahead we have to censor our every move.
If the price for equality is that we have to watch our every move, watch our every word, make sure we don’t say or do anything that might offend, then the price is too high.
I don’t want to live in a world where some small nervous committee of gay image consultants approves or disapproves of how we express ourselves and our sexuality. If a kiss on a music awards show is really what is losing gay marriage for us then we aren’t as close to it as we thought we were.