November 25, 2009

Adam Lambert On AMAs: 'I Don't Feel I Owe Anyone An Apology'

By Jocelyn Vena (MTV.com)

Adam Lambert in no way feels the need to apologize for his controversial American Music Awards performance on Sunday night. Although he's feeling the heat, and even found his appearance on Good Morning America canceled as a result, he's not budging.

"I'm not a babysitter, I'm a performer," Lambert told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show on Tuesday (November 24). "I don't feel I owe anyone an apology for anything. I performed, it was late-night TV, I did something that female performers have been doing for years, no different. It's just the fact that I'm me and it's a little different for people. It's really not that big of a deal.

"I think a mountain has been made out of a molehill," he continued. "It's choreography - we were dancing. The sexuality of it kind of got a little more extreme when I got up onstage," he said. "I think the adrenaline kind of took me over and I admit it, and I'm proud of the fact that I did get a little carried away."

In the interview he noted that he felt his performance wasn't any racier than ones by Janet Jackson, Eminem and Lady Gaga, adding that if he had been a female performer no one would have thought twice about it. "I do think there's a slight double-standard. We've seen female pop performers doing extremely sexual routines for years, and all of the sudden a guy does it and it's crazy.

"I'm a sexual person, and maybe people didn't see that on American Idol," he added. "But now they do."

As for the canned Good Morning America performance, which has now been rescheduled for CBS' The Early Show, he understands, but doesn't agree. "Obviously I respect their decision - they gotta do what they gotta do. It's too bad - I think there were a lot of fans who were excited to come see me," he said. "They probably had a lot of pressure coming at them from certain people who weren't happy about it. I respect their decision - I don't necessarily agree with it, but they need to do what they need to do."