By April MacIntyre Nov 23, 2009, 15:31 GMT
Last night's AMA's saw some classy, understated performances (Mary J. Blige), some tired and frankly boring ones (Green Day, Black Eyed Peas) and some ridiculously overstaged and overwrought turns (Rihanna, J-Lo, Eminem and Lady Gaga).
"... My whole point is, I'm not trying to lead the fucking way for the civil rights movement that we're in right now. I just happen to be a gay man -- and I'm not ashamed of that at all. Regardless of how I handled it, it became a huge issue. And I knew it would. So I figured, you know what, I'm just not going to label myself, I'm going to own the pictures, I'm going to get past it and just keep being myself on the show.''- Adam Lambert
Was I the only one who felt the air being sucked out of the room when Jermaine Jackson said his "thanks to Allah" comment in a room full of Industry types? The silence after that one was deafening.
Of course, the cherry on the AMA sundae was saved for last: American Idol's Adam Lambert flipping off mainstream America with simulated fellatio, man-on-man kissing and cross-sex crotch fondling on ABC.
Out magazine editor Aaron Hicklin, who penned an open letter to Adam to stand proud and tall and stop mincing about with women in photoshoots apparently made an impression, despite Adam's publicized negative response to the published screed.
If you think Sarah Palin and other conservative ideologues are popular now, just wait to see what the undercurrent and fallout from this surprising network TV display of the "we're here, we're queer, get used to it" ballsy statement that Lambert is now strenuously defending - countering that women performers have pushed the sexploitive envelope for years.
This is just a gut feeling and observation, but there most certainly will be repercussions and debate about this for awhile.
The real legal battles the gay community's currently fighting with regard to marriage were not helped by the over-the-top sexualized Lambert moment last night. Even President Obama, who the gay community rallied to and voted in, is dragging his feet on key gay issues and defending "traditional marriage."
Lambert was not subtle. His message on Sunday night at the AMA awards in his performance "For Your Entertainment" was highlighted by dragging a female dancer around like a sack of trash, thrusting male dancer's head into his crotch and simulating fellatio, groping and rubbing a female dancer's private area, walking a pair of male dancers on their knees like dogs on a leash, and energetically thrusting his hips at every opportunity on stage.
Lambert then grabbed a male keyboardist and deeply kissed (almost ate his face) which Lambert later told CNN that the act just came to him "in the moment" and was not planned.
Lambert hit back at critics saying, "a form of discrimination and a double standard," considering that for decades, "women performers have been pushing the envelope."
He told Rolling Stone that "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."
The West Coast broadcast kept the kiss with the keyboardist in but cut out the simulated fellatio business. They also cut out J-Lo falling on her bum hard in her shining "Looouu-Batons" moment.
Fans of Adam probably thought what he did was brilliant, but for me, the theatrical vibrato and overly dramatic screech-vocalizing was the biggest offense of the night.
What did you make of it all?
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