November 25, 2009
Adam Lambert posts/videos/interviews
Performs “What Do You Want From Me?” (later on Letterman)
Lambert’s mom Leila (video)
Lambert answers fans’ questions (video)
Adam Lambert spoke with Maggie Rodriguez on the Early Show. He was defensive. He said he didn’t think about kids watching and thinks it’s a double standard because he is a gay male. He did admit that he looked out in the crowd and saw some of his favorite pop stars and wanted to “let loose” and that it just got the best of him.
He never apologized to his young fans, their parents, ABC or Dick Clark. He didn’t “see anything wrong with it” and he’s being discriminated against – both because he is male and gay. He said he’s learning and next time he will get everything approved in rehearsals.
Transcription follows
[Hand-transcribed - emphasis added]
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Did you have any idea your performance would ignite this firestorm?
ADAM LAMBERT:
No clue. No clue at all. I was really looking forward to it. I worked really hard with my dancers and my band for about two weeks putting that together. And, I admit I did get carried away, but I don’t see anything wrong with it. I do see how people got offended, and that was not my intention. My intention was just to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time up there.
Did you include those sexually charged moves in rehearsal?
Those kind of came from more of an impromptu place. No, those were not rehearsed. So I think ABC was taken a little by surprise. That wasn’t my intention. I wasn’t being sneaky. It got the most of me, I guess.
It happened on network television, where a lot of families are watching. Without warning they see you kissing another guy and simulating oral sex – can you see why families would be upset?
I suppose I can understand why they’re upset. And, honestly, it didn’t cross my mind, children. It was almost 11:00. It was a night time show. I was there in the audience full of mostly adults. Sometimes, I forget, ‘Oh, there’s a camera on.’
I come from the theater. And I’m programmed to kind of look at who’s in the live audience, and that’s kind of where I come from. And so, I was looking out in the crowd and saw some of my favorite pop stars and thought, ‘I want to let loose.’ And it just kind of got the best of me. And I had a great time.
Unfortunately, there were people upset, but I think there are also people who really enjoyed it. So, like ‘Idol,’ I guess I have a tendency to divide people — apples and oranges — you either like it or you don’t.
Disingenuous. He spent months on Idol, where he was very conscious of his audience and live television. He also has performed on television post-Idol. He planned everything on Idol to the minutest detail taking into account his live audience and the audience at home. The truth is he wanted to impress/shock/get noticed by his favorite pop stars. No problem with that.
Do you feel you need to apologize to your child fans?
I think it’s up to the parents to discern what their child’s watching on television.
They had no idea they were about.
Well, to play devil’s advocate with you: Lady Gaga smashing whiskey bottles, Janet Jackson grabbed a male dancer’s crotch, Eminem talked about how Slim Shady has “17 rapes under his belt”. There was a lot of very adult material on the AMAs this year. And I know I was not the only one. I’m using it as an excuse, and I didn’t take offense at those performer’s choices.
I’m just saying, I think it’s up to a parent to watch the television. It was almost 11 at night. If they’re concerned with certain material maybe Tivo it and preview it before your small child is watching it.
So you don’t feel it’s your responsibility to apologize?
I’m not a babysitter – I’m a performer.
You said you think there is a double standard with male performers.
I believe there is a double standard. I think that 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. Like I said, there were other performers doing risque things. I mean, Janet Jackson – crotch grab – I haven’t heard one peep about that.
Do you think it’s because you’re male or because you’re gay?
Both. I think it’s a double whammy. [Laughs.] I think it’s because I’m a gay male and people have not seen that before.
But I don’t think people were specifically upset that you’re gay or you were kissing a guy.
I think some people were upset that I kissed a guy.
It was the venue that got people upset.
I suppose that makes sense. Again, when I get up on stage, I don’t think about things like, ‘Oh this is network television – what times is it what children are watching’. I was just in the moment.
If you had it to do over, would you do anything differently?
I would sing it a little bit better. [Nervous laugh.] The adrenaline took such hold of me that I went back and reviewed it. ‘Oh it wasn’t my best performance’. [laughs] But you know, no one’s perfect.
You admit you got carried away with the other stuff?
Yeah. I mean, you know, it got the best of me. I’m obviously learning. This was my first performance post-Idol on television. The song, lyrically, is sexual, and I just was performing the lyrics of my song. And I think in the future I will probably make a little bit more of an effort to stay consistent to what I do in rehearsal and what I do in the show.
That’s something that I’m learning – now. And that way if anybody has any problems with what I’m doing – it can be explored during rehearsal.
C’mon. He knows better. That’s why there are rehearsals. He picked the song for a reason.
What is the image that you want America to have of Adam Lambert?
And that’s the funny thing is that this is one song – this is one production number. This song on the album is one of the few songs that really explores risque, dangerous, kind of edgy sexuality. There are other songs n the album that are completely different. So for me, I hope that people don’t put me in a box and say, ‘Oh, he’s nasty, and he’s going to be like that all the time.’ That was one performance.
