Adam Lambert's Biggest Critic, the Gay Community
Written by TheImproper, Friday, 27 November 2009 09:18
“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert ignited a firestorm of controversy over his American Music Awards performance, but his biggest critics may be in the gay community. Still Madonna did it, why not Adam?
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.”
Lambert, 27, performed the single from his new album, For Your Entertainment, and the number included heavy sadomasochistic overtones. He led dancers on leashes, pushed another dancer’s face into his crotch, simulating oral sex, and French-kissed a third dancer. All were males.
ABC claimed it received more than 1,500 complaints, and cancelled Lambert’s scheduled appearance on Wednesday’s “Good Morning America” show.
CBS jumped into the fray and booked Lambert for morning rival “The Early Show.” Lambert offered no apologies during the interview.
While CBS showed the performance, it blurred the controversial scenes, which also provoked an outcry in the gay community.
Gay rights groups blasted CBS for hypocrisy. In the past, it has played unedited video of Madonna French kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at 2003’s MTV Video Music Awards.
The move “reinforces an unfortunate double standard that is applied to openly gay performers,” said the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Television shows have been more open about portraying lesbian relationships, but when it comes to gay men, they typically fall back on the stereotype of an ineffectual, sissified man.
Lambert hardly fits that image, and he did not shy away from the controversy during his interview.
“If it had been a female pop performer doing the moves that were on the stage, I don’t think there’d be nearly as much of an outrage at all,” Lambert added. “I think it’s because I’m a gay male.”
As for CBS and ABC, faced with the controversy, they decided to take a stand on their wallets, rather than on artistic freedom.
While CBS acknowledged that Madonna-Britney had aired countless times without censorship, it said “the Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences.”
In short, both networks are afraid the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may fine them for airing “indecent” footage.
Under the Bush administration, the FCC was rabid about so-called indecent television scenes, especially during the so-called family hours, between 8 pm and 10 pm.
It its most telling case, it fined CBS $550,000 after Janet Jackson’s breast was momentarily exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl half-time performance.
A federal court threw out a $550,000 fine against CBS for the split-second television exposure, but in May the Supreme Court ordered a further review of the case. Whether the Obama FCC pursues the same aggressive posture remains to be seen.
More than half a million people complained at the time, but many complaints were later proved to have been organized by right-wing religious groups.
Despite all the hoopla, or maybe because of it, sales of Lambert’s debut album are brisk.
It was No. 3 on the iTunes U.S. album chart by Wednesday night, and was expected to sell as many as 225,000 units in its first week.
Read the original article in The Improper
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