Gay Rage as GLAAD Lets ABC Off the Hook

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) asked ABC why scheduled appearances by American Idol contestant Adam Lambert were canceled in the wake of the openly gay Lambert's steamy performance during the Nov. 22 broadcast of the American Music Awards. ABC reiterated that the reason was not Lambert's sexuality, but rather the fact that his performance veered into unrehearsed gestures during the live broadcast.

In response, GLAAD issued a statement that appeared to give both sides of what has become a contentious issue. "It would appear that the kiss between Adam Lambert and his keyboardist did not factor into ABC's decision," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said.

"ABC has a history of positive gay and transgender inclusion that includes featuring kisses between gay and lesbian couples on-air," he added. "We applaud the visibility of openly gay performers and congratulate Adam Lambert for sharing his story on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week as well as his upcoming appearance on The Jay Leno Show."

GLBT bloggers were not pleased with what they saw as the gay media watchdog letting ABC off the hook. Barrios came in for criticism from Queerty.com, where an article slammed the organization and its president for "[giving] the network a pass."

"He's right in one respect," the article said of Barrios. "ABC does have a healthy recent history of positive LGBT portrayals. But its treatment of the Lambert saga completely reverses the network's good will." Pointing out that appearances by Lambert on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and ABC's upcoming New Year's Eve show were both scrubbed along with a performance the singer was to have given on Good Morning America, the article posited that, "Regardless what the network or GLAAD has to say, Lambert has been branded too gay for television. And somehow the very organization responsible for making sure one of our own isn't lambasted in the media is going along with it."

Added the article, "GLAAD's involvement in the Lambert situation is actually harming the gay community. As our self-appointed representatives, GLAAD is telling America that ABC's treatment of a gay man is just fine, nothing to see here, move along."

Queerty and JoeMyGod.com both noted that as the GLBT community responded with anger to the statement, GLAAD appended an "update" to the original statement reading, "Since his American Music Awards performance occurred GLAAD has consistently advocated that Adam Lambert and openly gay artists not be held to a double standard... GLAAD's discussions with ABC focused on confirming that his sexual orientation was not a factor in their decisions. ABC confirmed this is not about a same-sex kiss or his sexual orientation but about being 'caught off guard.'"

Evidence of a double standard at work was perceived by GLBT viewers when Lambert's appearance at The Early show on rival network CBS showed a same-sex kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears on the same awards program six years ago--along with a clip of Lambert's own performance, in which the kiss Lambert planted on a male musician was obscured. CBS denied that they were acting out of a double standard for gay male performers, while ABC continued to insist that disinviting Lambert had to do only with the fear that the singer might do something similarly surprising if allowed on other programs.

Anne Sweeney, the president of Disney/ABC Television Group, announced that the network would make it a contractual matter for artists on live broadcasts to stick to rehearsed material, and not throw in "improvised" gestures such Lambert's gay kiss.

"We certainly don't want to suppress artistry at any level, but we also have to be very cognizant of who our audience is," MTV.com reported Sweeney as saying in a Dec. 1 article.

Lambert said during his Early Show appearance that it was a case a double standard being applied. "Janet Jackson, crotch grab," said Lambert, referring to another performance on the same awards program. "I haven't heard one peep about that."

Barrios had spoken out earlier about ABC's cancellation of Lambert's Good Morning America appearance, saying, "Some music performances, regardless of the sexual orientation of the performer, are tailored for a prime time audience but not for a morning show audience. It is disappointing that Good Morning America did not give Adam Lambert the opportunity to tailor his performance to their audience, as he did on their show in August 2009.

"We applaud the CBS Early Show for taking this opportunity to work with Lambert on a performance that is entertaining for an early morning television audience," Barrios added.