Adam Lambert: Smart or Stupid?

Did the American Idol runner-up pull a dumb stunt or a clever career move with his provocative performance at the American Music Awards?

- Kathy Campbell, BettyConfidential.com

Am I the only one who has fallen out of love with Adam Lambert in the wake of his “shock and awe” performance at the American Music Awards?

Now, before you start scrolling down to the comments section, I would like to point out that I have been a fan of Adam’s since his first audition on American Idol. I voted for him each and every week, and even threw a pillow at the TV (scaring my sleeping dog) when he lost to saintly-by-comparison Kris Allen. I bought Rolling Stone when Adam was featured on the cover and he confessed, “I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I’m gay” and I preordered his album “For Your Entertainment.” In short, I have been proud to stand up and say, “My name is Kathy Campbell and I am a Glambert.”

But I have to confess that Adam kind of lost me on Sunday night. And I wonder how many of his fans are feeling the same way.

It takes a lot to shock me, but I actually gasped when I saw Adam force a male dancer’s face towards his gyrating crotch on national television. Then when he groped at a female dancer’s lady bits, I rewound my DVR to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. So by the time he got to actually locking lips with a platinum-haired male member of his band, it was almost an anticlimax. I mean shouldn’t the kiss come before the heavy petting and oral sex?
It wasn’t Adam’s PDA that surprised me, but rather his PDSA (Public Display of Sexual Aggression). I am happy to see anyone (gay, straight or bi) expressing affection, but what Adam did on Sunday night seemed so angry — he also flipped the bird to the camera during his number — and it was totally unnecessary.
ABC obviously felt the same way because they cut some of the more suggestive bits of his number from the subsequent West Coast broadcast and then dumped him from Good Morning America — only for CBS’ Early Show to swoop in and invite him to perform this morning.

Read: Adam Lambert to Appear on CBS after ABC Dumps Him

Adam has admitted that he added the risqué moments to his performance at the last moment, without the producers’ knowledge, but said that he was “proud of the fact that I did get carried away.”

Pity everyone doesn’t share the sentiment. ABC logged 1,500 complaints, and despite a trending topic on Twitter proclaiming #ShameOnYouABC (which mostly decried the network’s move to dump him from GMA as homophobic and discriminatory), a poll on PopEater found that 87 percent of 270,000 respondents felt that Adam went too far.

The 27-year-old was very defensive backstage after the AMAs, proclaiming, “If it made you uncomfortable, then maybe I’m not for you.”

And that made me think about what would have happened if my preteen niece had watched his performance and then turned to her mom to ask her about what she’d just seen. Uncomfortable is an understatement.

While he wasn’t apologetic yesterday when he was interviewed on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show, Adam tried to downplay the controversy, saying, “It wasn’t meant to piss anyone off.” But when the American Idol host asked him how he felt about kids watching the show with their parents, Adam, who pointed out that his performance was on late-night TV, added, “I’m not a babysitter, I’m a performer.” Way to win fans, dude.

And then he stated the obvious: “I’m a sexual person and maybe people didn’t see that on American idol, but maybe now they do.” Ya, think?yan Seacrest’s radio show, Adam tried to downplay the controversy, saying, “It wasn’t meant to piss anyone off.” But when the American Idol host asked him how he felt about kids watching the show with their parents, Adam, who pointed out that his performance was on late-night TV, added, “I’m not a babysitter, I’m a performer.” Way to win fans, dude.

And then he stated the obvious: “I’m a sexual person and maybe people didn’t see that on American idol, but maybe now they do.” Ya, think?




As a publicity stunt it was just as calculating as Madonna locking lips with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at 2003’s Video Music Awards. If you didn’t know who Adam Lambert was before, you probably do now. But the fallout over his performance has raised the question: Is there a double standard, where two women can kiss, but two men can’t?
After all, Madonna et al weren’t dropped from GMA after swapping spit.

That fact wasn’t lost on Adam, who told the Los Angeles Times, “I don't mean to get political, but Madonna, Britney and Christina weren't edited."






Rosie O’Donnell defended Adam and proclaimed that there was a “triple standard” and even Rihanna said, “It was hot when Britney and Madonna did it, but when Adam did it, it was a big thing.”

Adam is clearly hoping that this “big thing” will help to sell lots of copies of his debut album. That remains to be seen. But, hey, letting over-the-top performances overshadow obvious vocal talent been working well for Lady Gaga lately.

And before all you die-hard Glamberts swear off watching ABC for life, keep this in mind: Barbara Walters has just interviewed Adam for her annual 10 Most Fascinating People special. Because as ABC ultimately knows, and Adam admitted himself, “it’s entertainment.”

Are you an Adam Lambert fan? What do you think?

Kathy Campbell is BettyConfidential’s Executive Managing Editor.


To read more from BettyConfidential | 10 Best Dressed Celebs at the AMAs