Despite the fact that Adam gave a long and detailed interview to the special 100 issue of gay ‘Out’ magazine, the controversy is huge since Aaron Hicklin, Editor-In-Chief of the Magazine published the open letter in which he described the behind the scene circumstances connected with Adam’s appearance in ‘Out’ and his view on those.
I will describe this issue in my next post, where I will let the discussion flow.
Here, I would like to concentrate on the interview itself, made by Shana Naomi Krochmal
Part 1.
Highlights:
Out: Let’s start off by talking about Lady Gaga.
Adam Lambert:
I saw those pictures in Out, the Halloween pictures. They were incredible! I’m so refreshed by her. I think she’s finally taking risks. Like where are those people? You know what I mean? I’m inspired by it. I’m like, “Yeah, fuck yeah. Let’s take risks.”
I think for a lot of people, no matter how out you’ve been, you have these moments where you’re like, “How are people going to react?”
To be honest with you, it was a really weird moment, because I’ve been living in L.A. for eight years like, yeah, I’m gay. I go out to gay clubs and bars and I go out to straight clubs and bars too. I don’t think twice about it. And it was the first time since I’d come out of the closet at 18 that I had to think about it.
You’ve said it was your choice how to handle that. Even the most savvy gay people I know are dubious about you having that much control. How did it happen? Did you get called into a meeting?
Literally, the minute the pictures came out, the publicist for the show called me up and was like, “So? Did you hear about these pictures?” And I was like, “Yeah.” And she goes, “What do you want to do about it?” She was really cool.
This is the publicist from Fox?
The publicist from Fox, [Jill Hudson]. She was like, “You know, stuff like this has happened before, and this is usually what happens…” And I was like, “Jill, I don’t want to deny it, and I’m not ashamed of it. And I don’t want to seem like I’m ashamed of it. Because that’s not me. That’s just not how I am. But, at the same time I really want this opportunity and I want to stay on the show as long as possible. So, I kinda have to come up with a compromise.” And she was like, “Well, is it a big deal to you?” And I’m like, “No.” And she’s like, “Well, then let’s not make a big deal out of it.” And that’s what we did. She was like, “You know, own it. Tell them who you are, and just move forward.” And that’s what we did. And I’m glad that I handled it that way, because I think that had I immediately said the words and labeled myself — you know, said “I am gay” — I think that it would’ve been more about that, initially, than anything else. And the fact that we didn’t come out and make a big announcement or anything like that — that doesn’t make any sense to me anyway. It’s not an announcement. It’s just, it’s part of who I am. But because our nation is the way it is, it’s an announcement. And also, there are very few gay celebrities. [Long pause.] It’s really cool, now, looking back, because I think that without saying it, and making that part of my identity, I think I allowed viewers to be more open to me. I think, had I put it out there that I was gay right off the bat, I think that people would’ve closed their minds right away.
But wouldn’t you say that it was a minority of people who were actually surprised that you were gay?
Yeah, I would hope. If somehow this can open people’s minds or whatever, then great. I’m not sitting here thinking about ways to open people’s minds. That’s the thing people have to understand.
How do you describe your sexuality?
I think one of the things about the gay community that’s really interesting is that while people own their homosexuality, there is a strange aversion to letting the masculine and the feminine exist within you in a balanced way. And for me, personally, I feel I have a very strong masculine side, and I also have a very strong feminine side. And a lot of people are scared to live in that gray area. There’s boys out in Boystown that are either really fem or really butch. It’s at the extremes. I love when I meet people that are just kind of comfortable being both. And they don’t have to identify being really butch or really fem. Why? Why would you have to?
(…)
Have you ever had any sex with a girl?
Oral.
You went down on her?
Uh-huh.
Was it gross, or it was just not what you wanted?
It was a little gross because I don’t think she was as clean as she could’ve been. It wasn’t the act of it that really turned me off. I don’t really remember. I was 18 and I was drunk. Or maybe I was 17… The point of the matter is that I would not rule it out. The idea is intriguing.
Part 2
Highlights
It’s nice to meet a gay man who enjoys drugs that aren’t meth or coke.
I stay very far away from those things. It’s funny too because I remember after that [Rolling Stone] article, my mom was like, “I don’t know if you should have said all that stuff about drugs, Adam. You know there’s a lot of kids…” And I said, “But that’s life, that’s real.” I just wanted to be careful that it didn’t turn into a fucking pageant. It doesn’t have to be goody two-shoes. I’m not. I can fake it sometimes. Maybe. There is an element of responsibility. I’m not a jackass. There are kids exposed to things. I don’t want to fuck up some kid’s life or something, or make a parent’s job really difficult. But at the same time, it’s like —
What are you doing that would do that?
I don’t know. To some people, me being sexual is really offensive because I’m gay. They’re like, he’s being really gay. And I’m like, actually, no, because there’s no other guys up here. I’m just being sexual. And male sexuality is frightening to America. Female sexuality — it might not be the best example of it, but it’s all over the place. Overt female sexuality might be degrading. It might not be the most feminist type of sexuality, unless you look at it like the woman’s in control, so she’s got the power. Sexuality is just — people are so freaked out by it. The double standard is that a woman can get away with it but a man hasn’t been able to yet.
How famous is too famous?
I don’t know. I really think it’s relative. The hardest thing to do in this situation — but the best thing to do — is to not take it too seriously. By doing that you don’t let it run your life and freak you out. It’s all kind of ridiculous, if you put yourself outside of it and try to look at it as objectively as possible. It’s all ridiculous. The whole thing. It’s crazy. It’s hilarious. It’s funny. It’s great. It’s really positive. And when you start letting the pressure get to you — our job as entertainers is to not let the pressure get to us. Our job as entertainers is to be like, OK, I’m just going to keep doing what I do. And obviously I’m being an idealist right now — but I kind of have to be, or how else am I going to last?
Related posts:
- HOT!! Adam Lambert in Details Magazine – transcript of the interview & photos Share We have been warned…. For few days ago @AdamLambert...
- International press about Adam Lambert performance on AMAs & ABC/CBS controversy – links Share Adam Lambert’s AMA performance made some headlines in the...
- Adam Lambert’s performance on AMAs 2009 on 22/11/09 – the controversy continues – consolidated links and media Share Please see also the first part of the link...
- Adam Lambert to Details Magazine about his faves Share In connection with his interview for Details Magazine, Adam...
- ‘Dear Mr. Aaron Hicklin…’ an open letter from an Adam Lambert’s fan Share Following the publication of interview with Adam Lambert in...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
