Last night, Adam Lambert broke some bad news on his Twitter page, tweeting that ABC has cancelled two more of his performances. Lambert tweeted: “Yes, sadly friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. 🙁 don’t blame them. It’s the FCC heat. I AM doing Leno though. And lookin into something for NYE. It’ll all blow over. Let’s focus on being positive! :)” So ABC pulled the plug on Lambert’s late-night appearances on Jimmy Kimmel’s show (who even watches that?) and Dick Clark’s big Rockin’ Eve or whatever. This comes after ABC pulled Lambert’s spot on Good Morning America… and yet they said “yes” to Chris Brown. Because homosexuals are worse than violent sociopaths, I suppose.
More than a week after his controversial performance at the American Music Awards, Adam Lambert says he continues to find himself an unwanted guest on ABC.
Late Wednesday night, Mr. Lambert, the singer and “American Idol” finalist, wrote on his Twitter account that his invitation to two more ABC programs had been withdrawn.
“Yes, sadly friends,” Mr. Lambert wrote, “ABC has cancelled my appearances” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and the annual “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” special.
Last week, ABC scratched a planned appearance by Mr. Lambert on “Good Morning America,” its morning talk show. That decision stemmed from Mr. Lambert’s performance on Nov. 22 at the American Music Awards, also broadcast on ABC, during which he simulated sex acts with his dancers, kissed a male bandmate and extended his middle finger to the camera.
In announcing its cancellation of Mr. Lambert’s booking on “Good Morning America,” ABC said it was concerned that the singer would give another “controversial” performance “so early in the morning.”
On Monday, Anne Sweeney, the co-chairwoman of Disney Media Networks and president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, said that the network was re-evaluating its approach to live shows in the wake of Mr. Lambert’s act, and would seek to ensure that artists’ performances more closely resemble their rehearsals. “We certainly don’t want to suppress artistry at any level, but we also have to be very cognizant of who our audience is,” Ms. Sweeney said in an interview with Reuters.
A spokesman for ABC’s entertainment division, which oversees “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” was not immediately available on Thursday morning.
But on his Twitter account, Mr. Lambert tried to strike a conciliatory tone. “It’ll all blow over,” he wrote. “Let’s focus on being positive!” He also said that he was still booked to appear on “The Jay Leno Show” on NBC.
[From The New York Times]
I actually think Lambert is being very gracious and professional with this ABC smack down, and he’s winning me back a little with his attitude, and with his sort-of apology the other day. Now I only feel rage for ABC and the busybodies who think Lambert’s gayness can’t even be seen on late night programming.
So cranky Rupert Everett(sp?) is right. It is not acceptable to be anything but a “nice gay”. Funny thing is I tend to be on the more conservative side, but this Adam Lambert stuff is really nuts. I cannot believe that he is being excluded in this way, in this day and age, shame.
ABC’s not winning me over with all these cancellations. I imagine Lambert’s learned a hard enough lesson that he might want to show some restraint until he’s a little better known. Ease into the hardcore stuff?
If I was a booker on one of these shows, I wouldn’t cancel him because of his raunchy act or his gayness. I’d do it because he sounded like holy hell trying to sing and dance at the same time.
I’m not ready yet to jump on the bandwagon that says he’s totally being punished because he’s flamboyantly out and proud of it. I don’t hate or like him more of less because of it and in my optomistic little heart, I’d hope someone with a brain at ABC feels the same.
At this point it’s borderline horrifying how ABC is responding to this situation. You want to say that you don’t want to suppress artistry but you essentially blacklist Adam Lamber because a segment of your audience were offended by his performance? It’s nice to see that ABC will let a homophobia backlash dictate its programming decisions. Shame on them.
I knew this would happen, it is far too early in his career to pull the antics that he did on the AMAs. He got a spike in sales because of it, and it will soon fade. At the end of the day the record business is just that a business run by suits. And most of the suits will only keep Adam around as long as he is making them money, if he becomes to much of a liability they will drop him.
That is just bizarre. ABC isn’t winning me over either, and Lambert is kind of growing on me. What’s funny to me is how much he looks like Liberace in the photo, and hell, in the 70’s, Liberace was all over network TV. So the pendulum swings I guess.
ABC is winning me over, because I am sick of seeing this guy and his horrible foundation all over the place.
There are people with more talent that get no exposure at all, and he is getting just what he wants, more and more press every day.
Adam is not suffering from ABC’s slight in the least.
anybody else think this has just become a matter of exercising their immature power… “well if you don’t apologize then we’ll show you who’s boss”
i could understand pulling him from the morning shows. but the late late shows? no one even watches them! and oooo why don’t you just make your performers sign a contract stating they will not deviate from the rehearsals (to a certain extent) and if they do you can sue them for breach of contract. that was you can say yes or no.
at this point it does feel like they are blacklisting him for a mistake and one way more easily forgiveable than beating your girlfriend half to death. I would rather watch Adam’s AMA performance everyday for the rest of my life then get anywhere chris brown or his music
hope his 10 minutes are up.
he’s a narcissist. nobody wants to see that kind of stuff on TV. that is, except for him and for sex-obsessed others.
Okay, I just don’t get it. Back when I was a teenager and watching the Mike Douglas show (was on around the same time as Merv Griffin’s show) Prince performed for the first time on daytime tv. When done performing he kissed his (male)bass player on the lips, you know a “man on man” kiss. I don’t remember anyone throwing a hissy fit back then about it. So what’s the big deal now?
ABC is encouraging the culture of hate in America with their stupid actions. Thier true colors are surfacing. I am ashamed to be an American! Stay strong Adam! The rest of the sane Americans have your back.
If I never hear about him again I’ll be just fine.
Be who you are all you want, just stay out of my headlines because you’re a total bore.
Hooray for freedom of speech! ABC can choose who they want on their network and who they don’t. I’m curious what overtly sexual performances they’ve allowed from women.
I don’t care for Lambert. I only saw clips of his imfamous performance, but I don’t think he’s very talented.
His career will be interesting to keep an eye on.
I’m really a big fan of Wicked the Musical. I’ve seen the musical about ten times.
I really wish I could see Adam perform in Wicked. Does anyone have a video of his performance?
My favorite character is Elphaba. I like the fact that you can see another side of the story. My favorite part of the musical is when Elphaba flies on her broom stick.
I go here to purchase Wicked Merchandise
Now maybe HE’LL blow over and I won’t have to look at his disgusting pancake’d face anymore.
@ Firestarter – “and his horrible foundation all over the place”
I thought it was just me!! I kept looking at his pics thinking: what is going on with his SKIN?????? Very strange indeed.
Ummm Michelle Hagita where did the Wicked reference come from? I didn’t catch that one… *shrug*
“Hooray for freedom of speech! ABC can choose who they want on their network and who they don’t.”
Dammit, people. ABC not allowing him on their show is not ABC exercising their freedom of speech. Freedom of speech only applies when a GOVERNMENT is trying to limit your speech. The 1st Amendment only protects your right to free speech when you’re dealing with governmental agencies.
Ha! I am not feeling the makeup either! He looks ridiculous! Clothes and all.
I don’t get where this became a gay issue. The kiss was left in the edited west coast broadcast of his AMA performance. The simulated oral sex was truly offensive, and if it were a guy on girl or girl on guy it would have been equally offensive. Frankly, I think the Victorias Secret “fashion show” is inappropriate for network TV.
I thought Lambert’s AMA performance was horrible from top to bottom – horrible singing, horrible dancing, horrible judgment…and I’d written him off but am starting to like him again after his Ellen interview and now his being very gracious and positive about ABC’s continuing to cancel him. Which, I think, is really taking it too far to cancel late night appearances. The morning show, fine, especially since it was, what, a day or two days after the GMA show. ABC should just get over it by now and let him rectify his mistake.
his make-up artist either needs glasses real bad or is in on a real cruel joke! OMG!
Elvis was framed in up close back in the day so it’s nothing new. I think it’s a lot of boo hooing on Adam’s part for sales. He was raunchy to the max. People and networks have a right to say enough is enough. It should be done for almost all the single women singers, they are the worst. And I will count Taylor Swift among them after I saw her first performance on the CMA’s. She was disgusting with her strippette hair twirling, the actual pole slide and the groin thrust and pelvic tilt at the end.
I think that if the performance itself was really good and not of all shock value this would not be a problem for him. The AMA’s was not his best vocal wise from what I have seen before. There are performers and there are singers and that night Lambert was neither. I don’t think his sexuality is what killed him, it was that he was just not very good and ABC does not want to take a chance on that again. But that’s just my opinion.
I also do not get where the gay issue comes from. The kiss I can handle. What offended me was the crotch grinding and grabbing. I don’t care who does it. Don’t use the excuse that’s it’s been done before either or use the lame excuse that you were just interpretting the song. Are we going to be subjected to shootings and rape etc on stage just so that we can “get” what a song is supposed to mean?
I gather being asked to perform on the AMA’s really early in your career would make anyone nervous. If you followed Adam on IDOL, you would see there is no comparison there. Adam is a brilliant singer, has a super voice with a falsetto that would curl the hair on the back of your neck. He is original and fresh and needed at this time. We all have the freedom of choice to watch him or leave him. I choose to watch him. I support him full on. So he made a bad call, boo hoo to ABC. Your loss as he racks up the dollars for the other networks who aren’t afraid to air him. Adam Lambert’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
For those of you who don’t care for him, There is another option on your remote controls, it’s called the OFF button.