Adam Lambert on homosexuality, slip bans, the AMA’s ‘impulsive’ kiss, homophobia
Adam Lambert placed second on “American Idol” about 14 years ago. Now it has conquered a category of its own.
Much of this trip? His homosexuality.
“I like not being like everyone else. I like finding my individuality,” Lambert said on Zoom in April. His effervescent, electric tone soars across the screen: “Being queer in my career has given me some purpose and motivation, to prove that queer people are valid and can succeed and can connect and deserve all the opportunities our straight friends get.”
Since “Idol,” the 41-year-old singer has starred in “Glee,” toured with Queen, started an LGBTQ charity called the Feel Something Foundation, made his film debut in “Fairyland,” and won a Creative Coalition award for his work. raise queer visibility in independent cinema. (That’s all?!)
Far from his life before “Idol” to be sure. “When I was in my early twenties, I was really uncomfortable. I didn’t own it yet. And now it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, yeah, what the hell? we do ?'”
Adam Lambert on leaving: “The door has opened”
Lambert has regularly discussed his coming-out experience and the homophobia surrounding his Season 8 stint on “Idol.”
“I was very comfortable with my sexuality and quickly realized, ‘Oh, I have to talk about it, because people are guessing and I didn’t say anything,'” he says. “The idea of coming out felt like such an afterthought, because I came out when I was 18. And I was 27 when I was doing Idol.”
Lambert was lucky with supportive parents; his mother questioned him about his sexuality after their family saw a show about a gay man coming out to his parents and all hell breaking loose. Art did not imitate life.
“The door opened, and we kind of had to go back to my childhood and laugh about it all,” Lambert says. “And I’m glad she broke the ice because I was kind of a wimp about it.”
He, like many queer people, has internalized his sexuality. He didn’t know how to treat him, who to talk to, who to turn to.
“It was very elusive for me,” he says. “I didn’t know how I felt. I’m so happy for young people today, because of all the resources that are out there, the information age and social media, and that’s a totally different ball game.”
Lambert says the real ‘gay agenda’ is telling people ‘don’t be miserable’
A “different ball game” indeed, but with its own share of backlash. Anti-LGBTQ legislation has popped up left and right across the United States, raising alarm bells for queer people, including Lambert.
“One of the things I always say is that it’s not contagious. When they say that the gay agenda, which always sticks with me, that they say stuff like that, I feel say, the only agenda that I think I and my community have is to try to help people feel good about being themselves,” he says. “That’s the agenda. The order of the day is that you’re fine. Don’t fight. Don’t be miserable. Don’t kill yourself, don’t go down a dark path. There is a light on what you are and who you are. This is the order of the day.
In a twist, however – especially for young people – LGBTQ identity is no longer a headline-grabbing ad.
“That’s kind of what, in a way, one of the things that I found difficult when I came out and established myself was that my sexuality preceded who I was. and the music I was making, as it relates to media, and part of the water cooler conversation, and I love how normalized it has become now,” he says.
Lambert says “Idol” was nothing but support for him, even when photos of him and an ex-boyfriend surfaced. Deep down, he knew his sexuality could get in the way of people’s objectivity and the ability to show what he could on stage. He wonders if homophobia actually cost him the competition.
What got Lambert in trouble – and what’s next for the LGBTQ community
Even after his public outing, pressures grew like weed for the newfound stardom. And not only among straight people, but also among gay people. What kind of homosexual was Adam Lambert? Was he gay enough?
When he kissed one of his male band members at the American Music Awards also in 2009, “It all happened. It was very impulsive. It wasn’t something I planned. And it got me in trouble.”
The kiss “definitely put a damper on some of the potential opportunities and relationships I had been set up for. And I didn’t really realize it at the time, but I realized it years later. talking to people.”
But whatever. Today, his homosexuality animates him. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
“We have to keep pushing, we have to push harder now. Because it’s bigger than all of us now, and protect our community members who are particularly under attack, like the trans community, who really face a lot of challenges right now,” he says. “And even the weird phenomenon of this whole drag ban thing, which is the weirdest thing. It’s people’s dumbest waste of energy. That’s how I see it. There’s so much more that we should be focusing on as a country right now to help people and keep people safe.”
Learn more about the LGBTQ community
Interesting:Gen Z is the driving force among adults identifying as LGBTQ, according to a survey. Here is a breakdown.
Let’s talk about (queer) sex:The importance of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education in schools
Important:How Bad Bunny’s gender fluidity is shaking up a genre, empowering the Latino LGBTQ community
Follow the labelsWhat is pansexual? What you need to know about the LGBTQ label.
USA Today
