Adam Lambert is reflecting on the homophobia he experienced during his early days on ABC.
The American Idol alum appeared at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday in Park City, Utah, where he accepted an award at The Creative Coalition’s annual Spotlight Initiative Awards Gala Dinner with Entertainment Weekly. During his acceptance speech, the 40-year-old took back at his journey to stardom through the singing competition show, which he never believed he had a serious shot at making it on:
“I was like, ‘Man, I don’t think they’re going to take me. I’m the gay guy. This is a pipe dream. And I made it to the final and I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I had no idea that it would go that long.”
Following the season’s wrap, public speculation only grew regarding Lambert’s sexuality. He explained:
“Once I got off the show, I got signed a record contract. There was an Entertainment Weekly article that was like, ‘Oh, this guy’s exciting, and it may or not be because he might be gay.’ And I was like, ‘Might be?!’”
He added of his “very interesting journey” through the entertainment industry following his run on the series:
“There were no gay guys. It was kind of the Wild West in terms of that.”
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But all was well until one 2009 performance at the American Music Awards, where he sang his debut single, For Your Entertainment, that landed him in the hot seat:
“I did the kind of performance I had seen since I was a teenager. I was kind of sexy, and had dancers on stage, and I did a couple of suggestive moves with a couple of dancers, and an impromptu kiss with my bass player. I was feeling it.”
Sounds pretty standard, right? Well, not for ABC, the network airing the awards ceremony:
“Well, I got off stage and I got in trouble. The network was like, ‘How dare you?’ They banned me for a while. They threatened me with a lawsuit.”
Crazy what a double standard there was… If the kiss would have been between a man and a woman, we know there wouldn’t have been ANY backlash from the network. He recalled of his feelings at the time:
“It was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s where we’re at.’ I didn’t know. I’d been in a bubble in L.A. amongst artists, weirdos, and I didn’t realize that kind of thing would ruffle feathers the way it did.”
See the full performance HERE.
But that didn’t discourage Lambert — he took it on the chin, and used it as motivation to become a beacon for other members of the LGBTQ+ community that needed a leader to “affect change”:
“So, that’s what I did. I was like, ‘Well, fine. I’m going to lean in and I’m going to be as gay as I f**king can be, and be flamboyant, and be wild. And if it gets me into trouble, it gets me into trouble, but I’m not going to back down from it.”
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Fast forward over 10 years later to where we are now, and the Whatya Want From Me singer says he can see still the impact of his decision:
“Over the past few years, I keep meeting more and more young people that saw me when they were a kid on TV. They’re like, ‘Oh, you know what? You helped me talk to my parents about being gay. You made me feel like it was OK to be who I was’ — and I’m not the only one that did that for young people.”
He helped move the needle in the entertainment industry, and because of that, he notes, “it is now a viable business move” for labels “to sign gay talent.” See him explain the moment on an Ellen clip from the time (below):
Outside of music, Lambert is taking a swing at acting, appearing in this year’s Fairyland — a 1970s to 1980s coming-of-age drama about a teen girl and her gay fathers, for which he made the film festival appearance.
What do you think of ABC’s negative reaction to Adam’s 2009 performance? Are you inspired by his courage to keep moving forward? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Images via ABC/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]
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