Adams ABC Cancellation Press

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An American Idol, Banned In The USA
Posted Wed Dec 2, 2009 6:40pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

It was announced today, via Adam Lambert's own Twitter page, that ABC--the same network that aired his controversial American Music Awards performance and then as a result of the fallout cancelled his appearance on Good Morning America--has put the kibosh on two more of his scheduled performances: a mini-concert for The Jimmy Kimmel Show that was planned for December 17, and Ryan Seacrest's New Year's Rockin' Eve special. He tweeted:

This is indeed unsettling news in light of Adam's GMA cancellation, feud with Out magazine editor Aaron Hicklin, and any number of controversies he's had to contend with ever since racy pics of him same-sex smooching at Burning Man spread across the Interweb back when he was still in the American Idol top 50. But I'm here to tell you, there is a bright side to all this: Banned and censored artists are the artists we all remember. They're the ones that make it into the history books, that have VH1 rockumentaries made about them, etc. Many artists have faced similar "scandals" in their careers, and they not only came out of it all just fine, but actually had their immortality cemented by such events.

Take Elvis "The Pelvis" Presley, of course, one of the earliest and most famous cases of music censorship. A swish of the hips might seem tame now, but in the 1950s, his burlesque-inspired gyrations first televised on The Milton Berle Show caused skittish cameramen working for The Ed Sullivan Show to shoot Elvis only from the waist up during one of his later Sullivan performances. This naturally only made viewers even more curious about what was going on below Elvis's belt, and his superstar status was all but guaranteed from that moment on. (Ironically, the famous waist-up performance was actually a ballad during which Elvis's hips stayed stationary, but viewers didn't know that.) Similarly, censored Sullivan performances by the Rolling Stones (forced to change "Let's Spend The Night Together" to "Let's Spend Some Time Together") and the Doors (asked to omit the word "higher" from "Light My Fire," a request singer Jim Morrison rebelliously ignored on-air) didn't hurt their careers, either.

And the list goes on. In England, the censorship issues the Sex Pistols dealt with--some stemming from the band's live televised swearing on Bill Grundy's talk show, some from their then-shocking anti-Royal Family sentiments--made the seminal punk band's "God Save The Queen" go to number one on the British chart. (Amusingly, the title was asterisked out on the chart listing itself. That certainly was a first.) In the '80s, the BBC's Radio 1's banning of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" due to a sexual lyric caused the single to skyrocket to number one and stay there for weeks, and the PMRC hearings helmed by Tipper Gore only brought more publicity to the artists under attack (the PMRC certainly didn't derail Ozzy Osbourne or Prince's careers). In the '90s, the hubbub over 2 Live Crew's raunchy raps (which admittedly were distasteful to many, but still had a right to be available for purchase in stores) made Luke Campbell an unlikely First Amendment posterchild and a cause célèbre. And of course, 2 Live Crew sold boatloads of records as a result.

Adam has already benefitted from his scandals, to some degree. Rather than hurt him, which some (including, admittedly, myself) feared, Adam's polarizing AMAs appearance caused his album sales to spike in the subsequent days (his debut record, For Your Entertainment, entered the Billboard chart at #3). It made people who'd never watched American Idol suddenly take interest and wonder why there was all this fuss about this crazy Adam guy. Sure, maybe the focus was not fully on Adam's music where it belonged, but hey, if all the controversy made some curious people buy the album as a result--and then HEAR the album and LIKE it--then that wasn't such a bad thing.

So, will Adam go down in the annals of music history like Elvis, the Stones, the Doors, the Pistols, et al? Well, of course it is WAY too soon to tell. As he himself admitted in a recent tweet, he is learning. He is a very new artist. Most of his history is still very much unwritten. But he's certainly the first American Idol to be banned from anywhere, so he's already made a mark. He's a surefire Trivial Pursuit question for several editions to come. This ABC flak is not necessarily fair, but it's nothing new in pop culture, and it's nothing that any good artist can't recover from. Remember, Adam's aborted GMA concert was quickly salvaged by rival CBS breakfast program The Early Show--which swooped right in to book Adam instead--and now The Jay Leno Show has already slotted Adam for December 21, four days after he was originally supposed to appear on Kimmel.

It's fairly likely Adam will get some plum New Year's Eve alternate offers, too. (Come on, who wouldn't want the Glambert to play at one's New Year's bash? That guy knows how to party, obviously.) He'll surely end this decade playing somewhere special, and chances are good that people will still be talking about him a decade from now.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/297514/an-american-idol-banned-in-the-usa/

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(Updated) FCC complaint is at the center of ABC's and Adam Lambert's woes
December 3, 2009 | 12:08 pm
Getprev Adam Lambert's urging to fans not to be upset with ABC for canceling his upcoming appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is making more sense today. On his Twitter page Wednesday night, Lambert explained "It's the FCC heat," a statement that ABC has declined to address.

The "FCC heat" comes from a complaint filed by Liberty Counsel on Nov. 24 against ABC, demanding that the network pay a financial penalty "for airing such an outrageously lewd and filthy performance during a show and time period that is targeted for family audiences."

In the complaint, Liberty contends that Lambert's Nov. 22 performance was both obscene and indecent and urges that the FCC take action against ABC. Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm that is closely tied to the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and provides legal assistance in defense of "Christian religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family."

Although ABC did receive about 1,500 complaints from viewers about Lambert's highly sexualized performance, dozens of Lambert fans have been complaining about ABC's decision to cancel Lambert's "Good Morning America" interview and now the "Kimmel" performance. Many of those critics say Lambert is being targeted because he is a gay male, as Janet Jackson, who opened the American Music Awards, grabbed the crotch of a male dancer and went unscathed by critics.

The director of cultural affairs for Liberty Counsel told The Times today that his firm was not aware of Jackson's performance.

"The issue is not so much about homosexuality, although I believe the preponderance of Americans find public hyper-sexualized acts of homosexuality particularly off-putting," Matt Barber said. "But the issue was more of indecency and what is decency. And frankly the issue is one of law. We believe this performance met the threshold for violation of federal law and violation of FCC regulations. And the Supreme Court has held time and again that there’s not a First Amendment right to engage in public indecency as evidenced by the outcry and complaints that poured into ABC. We believe that this violated contemporary community standards in terms of what is and what isn’t decent."

But "Kimmel" airs well after 10 p.m., the cut-off time the FCC has set for when indecent material cannot be broadcast. Lambert's AMA appearance occurred at 10:55 p.m. [Updated: 12:51 p.m. It was edited for the West Coast, but the timing could be an issue in the Central Time Zone, which would have seen it at 9:55 p.m.]

"I would say this is inappropriate period," Barber said. "This is not HBO or some of these cable networks where that type of indecency and filth has come to be expected. This is television where people just flipping through channels could have stumbled onto that. People unaware of what’s coming down the pike in terms of the indecency being performed. And it’s just really, frankly, not appropriate for network television, period, to mimic one man performing oral sex on another man."

ABC executives declined to be interviewed and issued a statement that didn't explain why the network continues to disinvite Lambert from his scheduled appearances: "We decided not to move forward with the booking at this time." Lambert's publicist on Thursday declined a request for an interview with the artist but said, "We respect what [ABC] says."

ABC also canceled Lambert's appearance on "Good Morning America" last week, saying the network was concerned he would give another controversial performance "so early in the morning." During an interview on "The Early Show" on CBS, Lambert conceded the adrenaline got the best of him on stage and the acts in question were not featured in his rehearsals.

Lambert will still appear on ABC's Barbara Walters' "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" on Dec. 9 at 10 p.m. presumably because there is no live performance involved.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/12/even-though-lambert-was-received-well-last-week-for-his-performances-on-the-early-show-and-the-ellen-degeneres-show-abc-has-o.html


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Steamy singer Adam Lambert still frozen out by ABC

By FRAZIER MOORE (AP) – 25 minutes ago

NEW YORK — Two weeks after getting dumped from "Good Morning America," glam-rocker Adam Lambert is still in hot water with ABC for his racy performance a couple of days earlier on its "American Music Awards" telecast.

Now Lambert says he's been dropped from ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and its "New Year's Rockin' Eve."

ABC spokeswoman Patrick Preblick said the lineup for the New Year's Eve special has not been announced.

The network "decided not to move forward" with booking Lambert on Kimmel's Dec. 17 show, ABC said in a statement.

Lambert addressed the two bookings on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

But all is not lost. NBC says he'll be a guest on "The Jay Leno Show" on Dec 21. And he's interviewed by Barbara Walters on her "Most Fascinating People of 2009" special — airing next Wednesday on ABC.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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American Idol
Dec 3 2009 12:56 PM ET

ABC disinvites Adam Lambert from 'Jimmy Kimmel,' New Year's Eve. What next? Public shaming as public-relations strategy?
by Michael Slezak
Categories: American Idol, American Idol 2009, Celebrity Feuds, Music, Ridiculata, Water Cooler

Look, I wasn’t a huge fan of Adam Lambert’s now infamous American Music Awards set — the groping and kissing and simulated fellatio seemed more cynical than sexy to me, and Adam admitted himself (in the video embedded below) that his vocal was “kind of a mess” — but from the subsequent fallout at ABC, you’d think the guy had crushed a trio of baby penguins under the heel of one of his fabulous platform boots. I mean, it seemed a wee overzealous when the network pulled the plug on Adam’s Good Morning America concert a few days after the AMAs, but yesterday’s news that the network has now canceled Lambert’s Dec. 17 Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance, and according to Lambert, a slot on Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve, has advanced the situation to the point of the ridiculous. (“We decided not to move forward with the booking at this time,” a network spokesperson said of the Kimmel cancellation, while declining comment on NYRE, which, incidentally, has yet to announce its lineup.) Let’s keep in mind that ABC is the home of allegedly family-friendly Dancing With the Stars, where popular pro Derek Hough celebrated a win this past season in the “Group Mambo” round by forcibly thrusting partner Joanna Krupa’s head into his nether-regions. (Lambert fans are also dismayed that their man has become a possible FCC pariah despite the fact that Pink and a male dancer executed a similar “please come closer and examine my zipper” dance move — with tongue! — during the 2004 Billboard Music Awards on Fox.) Lambert, for his part, is remaining philosophical and chipper — “Yes, sadly friends, ABC has canceled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. :( don’t blame them. It’s the FCC heat,” he Tweeted yesterday — but I can’t help but wonder if ABC hasn’t devised an entire 2010 public-relations campaign based around snubbing the American Idol season 8 runner-up. If they intend to go this route, here are a few sample press-release headlines they can use to get started:

* Adam Lambert to join ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve telecast live from Times Square — in stocks! Local school children will “teach that gay a lesson” using eggs, jeers.
* ABC scraps special SuperNanny episode featuring Adam Lambert. “There’s not a naughty step in the world big enough for that petulant young man!” gasps exasperated Jo Frost.
* Dancing With the Stars bans Adam Lambert tunes from show. “I wasn’t sure about some of those high notes anyway,” says a relieved Princess Sparkle.
* Ugly Betty revokes guest-starring role for Adam Lambert. “See? Some things are actually too gay for this show,” huffs spokesperson.
* Adam Lambert to play key role in ABC’s FlashForward. Main characters will see a future where his career ceases to exist!

What do you think of LambertGate ‘09? Is ABC justified in spanking the polarizing singing star, or is the network seriously overreacting? Has the situation changed your feelings toward Lambert and/or ABC? Sound off on those thoughts — and brainstorm some additional anti-Adam press release ideas — in the comments section below. And for all my Idol coverage, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak.

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ABC's Adam Lambert blacklisting continues, as 2 more TV appearances cancelled

By Cristina Kinon
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Thursday, December 3rd 2009, 11:23 AM
Updated: Thursday, December 3rd 2009, 12:14 PM

Adam Lambert, what have you wrought? Many cancellations of your live TV appearances, apparently. Above, his controversial performance at the American Music Awards.

The hits just keep coming for Adam Lambert, and not in a good way.

The "American Idol" runner-up confirmed on his Twitter Wednesday night that ABC has cancelled two more of his appearances.

"Yes, sadly friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on [Jimmy] Kimmel and [Dick Clark's ‘New Year's Rockin' Eve']," Lambert tweeted. "Don't blame them. It's the FCC heat."

(It should be noted that the Federal Communication Commission does not monitor programming after 10 o'clock. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs at 12:05.)

The cancellations come on the heels of Lambert's controversial performance on the "American Music Awards" two weeks ago, during which he simulated oral sex on stage with male and female backup dancers and kissed a male musician.

ABC received more than 1,500 complaints as a result, and cancelled Lambert's appearance on "Good Morning America" the following Wednesday.

Lambert said that he's "lookin into something for NYE [New Year's Eve]," and that he's still "doing Leno."

"The Jay Leno Show" airs on NBC.

Lambert assured his fans that "it'll all blow over."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/12/03/2009-12-03_abcs_adam_lambert_blacklisting_continues_as_2_more_tv_apperances_cancelled.html#ixzz0YeVn0tHd

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(People.com) -- As far as ABC is concerned, the controversy surrounding Adam Lambert still hasn't cooled down enough for him to be handled. For the second time, the network has cancelled an appearance by the onetime American Idol favorite.

"Yes, sadly friends, ABC has canceled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE," Lambert, 27, wrote on his Twitter account. ":( don't blame them. It's the FCC heat."

The singer's racy American Music Awards performance earned the FCC and the network thousands of complaints from viewers who thought his homoerotic gyrations inappropriate for TV.

ABC quickly nixed an appearance on "Good Morning America," saying his stage style was not suited for a morning show -- a move Lambert took in good humor.

As for the latest snub from ABC, he was still grinning and baring it -- and looking forward to a gig on NBC and New Year's possibilities.

"I AM doing Leno though. And lookin into something for NYE," he Tweeted. "It'll all blow over. Let's focus on being positive! "

At this point, the openly gay "American Idol" star, who hasn't waded into the charges that ABC is caving into homophobia, probably doesn't want to hear advice from British actor Rupert Everett, who told the British newspaper The Observer that he wishes he'd never come out.

"The fact is that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business or even the Italian film business," Everett, 50, says. "It just doesn't work and you're going to hit a brick wall at some point. You're going to manage to make it roll for a certain amount of time, but at the first sign of failure they'll cut you right off."

He adds: "Honestly, I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out."

2009 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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Adam Lambert continues to feel the wrath of ABC: More appearances cancelled
December 3, 11:36 AMYoung and Famous ExaminerMichele Johansen
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Adam Lambert on 'The Early Show'
Adam Lambert on 'The Early Show'
AP/Sykes

If you were looking forward to seeing Adam Lambert on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' you won't be happy about this: He won't be there! Lambert confirmed that ABC has cancelled his appearances after his racy performance on the American Music Awards last month. The backlash continues, except that ABC is the only network dishing out punishment.

As everyone knows by now, during Lambert's performance on the AMAs, which was considered to be his big post-American Idol debut, he shocked audiences with his sexy moves. Between simulating oral sex with a male dancer and then kissing another one, ABC was not amused by Lambert's gig and subsequently cancelled his appearance on 'Good Morning America' several days later. CBS decided to make the most of the opportunity and scheduled him to appear on 'The Early Show' instead. Although Lambert was initially unapologetic about his sexy performance, he later admitted to Ellen DeGeneres that it wasn't the "best first impression."

It appears that while other networks and fans are willing to let the performance go, ABC is not letting him off the hook so easily. Lambert tweeted the news of his most recent cancellations. "Yes, sadly friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. :( don't blame them. It's the FCC heat." ABC has yet to issue a statement. In the meantime, Lambert assures fans that he will still be on 'The Jay Leno Show' and is trying to book another New Year's Eve appearance.

Do you think ABC is taking this a little to far at this point, or are they doing the right thing?

Source: ET

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Adam Lambert’s Too Hot for ABC’s NYE Show and Jimmy Kimmel. WTF.

Adam Lambert is axed from two more ABC shows, and hello double standard! We’ve got some ‘04 Pink Billboard Music Awards footage that’ll blow yr mind. Lady Gaga was nominated for 5 Grammy Awards (and Dave Matthews had an album apparently?), Idina Menzel wants to be Lea’s Mom on Glee (CASTING HEAVEN), Adam Lambert wants his super gay & campy song to be in Twilight: Eclipse, and John Mayer plays lesbian matchmaker for Lilo & SamRon.

Adam-Lambert-AMA-Performance-For-Your-Entertainment-Pictures-500x675ADAM LAMBERT: Sooooo … did you know Adam Lambert was supposed to perform at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show? We didn’t either, but ABC has decided to go ahead and cancel that one too, just in case Lambert steals the ball before it drops and has his keyboardist cup that baby and give it a hummer.

It’s a sad sad world when we’re forced to usher it in with Ryan Fucking Seacrest instead of our dearest beloved Sexiest Man Ever Adam Lambert.

They’ve also canceled his December 17th performance on Jimmy Kimmel. [Riese sidenote: I've been personally boycotting Kimmel since he was mean to my hero Emily Gould in 2007.] Jimmy Kimmel, who every night enforces high standards of decency and provides family-friendly programming.

Lambert is playing it safe with his reaction:

adam-lambert-tweet

HERE’S THE BEST PART – In an excellent example of how the world just can’t handle man-on-man sexuality and this is that unconscious discrimination thing happening — in 2004, Pink performed at the Billboard Music Awards and rubbed a man’s crotch in her face. Do you remember that? We sure don’t. Because the FCC didn’t give a shit. (@towleroad)


Lambert will be performing on The Jay Leno Show on December 21 instead. This marks the second time in a month I will be forced to watch The Jay Leno Show for my Gaga/Glambert. (@ew) Also, if you were obsessing following Glambert’s Twitter feed like we were you may have noticed a song he frequently mentioned “Suburban Decay” is missing from For Your Entertainment. It was too theatrical & campy to make the cut, but he hopes to release it on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack this summer. (@mtv)

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ArtsBeat - New York Times Blog
December 3, 2009, 9:32 am
Adam Lambert Says ABC Cancels More Appearances
By DAVE ITZKOFF
Adam LambertMatt Sayles/Associated Press Adam Lambert performs at the American Music Awards in November.

More than a week after his much-debated 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” runner-up, wrote on his Twitter account that his invitation to two more ABC programs had been withdrawn. “Yes, sadly friends,” Mr. Lambert wrote, “ABC has canceled 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 he 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 ABC 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 struck 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.

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