Adam Lambert’s AMA act featured bondage, simulated fellatio to fight “double standard”


Adam Lambert is still a trending topic on Twitter this morning thanks to his performance of “For Your Entertainment” on the American Music Awards last night, which featured Adam making out with his keyboardist, groping with various male and female dancers, dragging dancers around the stage by their limbs and leashes, and having a male dancer plow his face into Adam’s crotch for some simulated fellatio. In other words, just your typical ABC prime-time broadcast.

The AMAs also featured Michael Jackson winning four posthumous awards and performances by Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, but Adam closed the show and is dominating headlines today. His season’s actual winner, Kris Allen, was left to present.

Adam’s performance, which is below, perhaps shouldn’t have surprised anyone considering the lyrics to the song (“Push the limit/Are you with it?/Baby, don’t be afraid”), and anyone who’s making any arguments about the poor, innocent, fragile children is an idiot, because his performance aired just before 11 p.m. ET/PT. But there still is such criticism, and The Los Angeles Times’ report includes some of the reaction from its readers.

If there was something worthwhile to complain about, it was the actual singing. Entertainment Weekly’s Mikchael Slezak argues Adam “emphasized shock-and-awe imagery over his standard-operating vocal excellence,” although “the entire telecast was racked with sound-mix issues that left even seasoned pros (except for maybe Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, and Jay-Z) sounding distant and tinny.” Slezak also adds that while “the idea of saucy boy-on-boy/boy-on-girl/boy-on-not-quite-sure action does not rattle my cage … Adam could’ve had tongues wagging just from his vocals alone. Instead, that golden voice took a backseat tonight.”

Adam responded, sort of, to criticism writing, “All hail freedom of expression and artistic integrity. :) fans: I adore u.” Backstage, he told Rolling Stone, “there’s a double standard going on in the entertainment community right now. Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We’e 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 broadcast was slightly edited for its non-live West coast airing; Rolling Stone reports that “ABC kept the kiss with Lambert’s keyboardist, but cut away from the simulated oral sex with his male backup dancer.” Adam said that if anything was censored, “In a roundabout way it’s a form of discrimination because it is a double standard. They didn’t censor Britney and Madonna macking onstage did they? But yet two men kissing they’ll censor?”

Earlier, he told the AP, “We’ve seen female pop and rock performers do that for the last 10 years. They’ve been very provocative, owning their power and sexuality. You just don’t see men doing it very often. And I’m hoping to break down that double standard with this number.”




uhhh... okay Adam we get it you're gay now just perform! I mean seriously I was pretty disappointed in this. If it were a concert of his fine but this was just a mess. Below were some really good performances from the AMAs

of course I am VERY partial to the JayZ/Alicia Keys duet!

As far as Adam LAMEbert goes, I get it too E, yeah ok your gay and he's right that females have been kissing each other on these awards shows blah blah blah...whatever. They didnt censor the kiss but simulating oral sex is crossing the line I think. Artistic expression, my ass!! No class.

<333 Carrie's performance & Taylor beating out Michael Jackson (BARF!) for Artist of the Year! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Loved Janets performance but more so because I was excited to see 2 dancers, the winner and a finalist, from So You Think You Can Dance Canada on there.

Adele, 23, who was recently forced to cancel the remainder of her sold out U.S. tour due to a vocal chord hemorrhage, was nominated for favorite rock/pop female artist, adult contemporary artist, album with her "21" and artist of the year for the awards to be broadcast from Los Angeles on November 20.
Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Lil Wayne and country music group The Band Perry were nominated three times, followed by artists such as Bruno Mars and Beyonce with two nods each.
Besides Adele, other artist of the year contenders are Gaga, Wayne, Swift and Perry, whose album "Teenage Dream" two months ago achieved the rare distinction of having five singles reach the top of the Billboard's pop songs chart. Perry also will perform at the key music industry awards.
In other rock/pop music categories, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars and the U.S. rapper Pitbull will vie for favorite male artist, while Maroon 5, OneRepublic and the dance music group LMFAO are nominated for favorite band. Besides Adele's hit "21", favorite pop album nominations were shared by Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Rihanna's "Loud."