'Female performers have been doing this for years - pushing the envelope about sexuality - and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out,' Adam Lambert says.
- Nov 24, 2009
AceShowbiz - Adam Lambert was quick to respond to controversy surrounding his raunchy performance at 2009 American Music Awards. He said any backlash against the stage act is "a form of discrimination and a double standard" because "female entertainers have been risque for years."
"It's a shame because I think that there's a double standard going on in the entertainment community right now," he explained to Rolling Stone backstage after the show at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre. "Female performers have been doing this for years - pushing the envelope about sexuality - and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out."
"We're in 2009; it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom."
Adam Lambert's performance at AMAs saw him stimulating oral sex, kissing his male keyboardist, gesturing audience with his middle finger and doing other sexually-charged acts. ABC has cut the stimulated oral sex but decided to keep the kissing scene. This has drawn complaints from more than 1,500 people. The November 22 stage act also got negative review from Parents Television Council (PTC).
PTC released a statement saying, "Last night's 'American Music Awards' broadcast was nothing short of tasteless and vulgar. Adam Lambert, the second-place finisher in last season's 'American Idol' competition, chose to treat American families to simulated oral sex and other demeaning behavior."
"ABC and Dick Clark Productions had every reason to know what to expect, as Lambert himself proclaimed that his performance would be 'very sexy' and would include leather and chains. But the producers and the network chose to bury their heads in the sand."
ABC calls the 1,500 complaints as a "moderate" amount. Meanwhile, producers for AMAs Dick Clarks Production said from the rehearsals, they were unaware of what Adam had planned. "We did not expect the impromptu moments," a spokesperson for the company stated. Adam himself admitted that one of his acts, the kissing part, was "in a moment" and not a planned routine.
Adam's performance is deemed one of the most provocative TV moments since Madonna locked lips with Britney Spears at 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
