As you may have read yesterday, Aaron Hicklin, editor of OUT magazine, wrote an open letter to American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, accusing Read the full post.
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I think the biggest problem with Out’s editor’s letter is that he’s saying the opposite of what any civil rights movement would want. “You have to be this..or that” Isn’t Adam’s biggest accomplishment the fact that people don’t see him as a Gay man..who happens to sing.. but as an artist..who happenes to be gay..isn’t that the point? Seeing people for who they are..what they bring to the table..not who they sleep with,pray to, or come from? I think this letter will ultimately bite Hicklin in the butt.. what he wanted was contreversy to gain bigger sales..what he got was a bunch of angry fans.. who aren’t going to go out and buy the magazine now.
I agree, tati. Adam is a singer (as he was introduced to us first as) who happens to be gay. I also think the letter will cause backlash. We’ll see.
The Out letter did get one thing right… that Details shoot where Glambert was making out with a chic was gross. Boobs… ick!
Yeah, but making out with a guy in Details would have made the idea behind the article, that Lambert is sexy to the opposite sex despite being gay, seem a little bit silly.
I think part of why Adam is causing such a stir is because we haven’t seen a lot of homosexual alpha males. The images of gay men in movies and books and TV are almost always of the femmy best friend who takes you shopping when a big stupid man breaks your heart. But that’s not only one, narrow, view and that’s not Adam. Adam is masculine and also happens to be gay. He embraces his feminine side, but doesn’t drain all the testosterone out of his body to do so. He’s found a way to let both sides co-exist and the result is stunning. He is a game changer, a black swan as has been said before.
Adam gave Out a dream interview and then they, by way of their Ed in Chief have thanked him for his candor by stabbing him in the back.
The very heart of the gay rights movement is gaining the right to live your life as you see fit. As Slezak said himself, where does it make sense that anyone, regardless of prominence or position or preference gets to tell another person how to be gay, or how to be straight for that matter?
Slezak, you rule. Well said.
The letter did seem really out of place, especially after reading the actual interview, where (I thought) Adam gave a pretty frank and in depth take on his sexual identity and how it fits into his career and daily life.
But my favorite part of this whole “scandal” was the editor comparing making out with a woman to making out with an animal. Awesome. I had no idea that Adam’s occassional hints at possible bi-curiosity were the equivalent to bestiality.
Guess if he wanted his letter to push buttons, it worked.
Thanks Slezak.
Amen, Slezak. Totally agree with your article. Thanks.
Adam will do more for the cause of equality by just being his exceptionally talented, charasmatic self. He doesn’t need to wave a rainbow flag, he IS one…Just ask Michael Sarver.
Slezak, you rock my world! I thought your article was spot on. Hicklin is putting people into boxes and it defeats the entire idea that people are individuals and not labels. Each person is going to be who they are in their own way, you can’t dictate how “gay” someone should be. It implies that there’s a certain standard on how “straight” someone should be and now we’ve taken four steps backwards fostering an “us” versus “them” mentality. If he wants to shout about being a role model to the LGBT community perhaps he should start with himself.
Good comment, Rachel. “You can’t dictate how “gay” someone should be.” Exactly. It isn’t like there’s a spectrum people have to follow.
The more controversy, the more CD sales?
The more magazine sales!
Except that Adam Lambert fans, who would have generated a huge part of that sales increase, are not going to touch it now!
Perhaps. But Out hasn’t had this much buzz since the Anderson Cooper/Jodie Foster cover.
Slezak, I freaking love you, man. No, he shouldn’t be made a poster child for the LGBT community and nor does he want to judging by all his previous comments. OUT’s editor is simply trying to drum-up controversy because it sells more copies (although I think it’s backfired in this sense). If he has issues with Adam’s management, he should have addressed his open letter to 19/RCA. After Elton has a nice article on this as well.
great article!!!!!
Nail.on.head. The whole whingeing letter from Hicklin was bilious absurd, and devoid of decency. WHat frosts me further is that Mr. Lambert’s response is now being critized by many people purporting to be his fans. They say he should have taken the high ground.
That’s a difficult place to reach when you’ve been gracious and honest with an organization–interview is testament to this– then publicly bashed upside the head by those same individuals who apparently hail from the “I-am-going-to-smile-at-you-before-I-eat-you” side of our planet.
I know I couldn’t be counted on to be all sweet and light under such circumstances. So why would I expect that of Mr. Lambert?
Sigh. I think the editor of Out had a right to publish the editorial. The media has been kissing Adam’s a** for so long–including EW and especially Rolling Stone. Naturally everyone has a hissy fit just because someone refuses to toe the media party line. Adam is a new artist–since when do new artists get to make all these demands anyway? He needs to prove himself musically first.
This statement is so stupid, convoluted, and contradictory that it would take a 2500 word essay to unpack it.
I get what you’re saying. It’s okay to have a point of view. You ar entitled to it. We don’t all have to agree.
What demands? That he not have to discuss a specific topic?? That isn’t a demand, it is his perogative!
Heaven forbid a publicist make negotiatons in how their client will be used!! Adam has no obligation to OUT magazine in any way!! Just because he is gay doesn’t make him their property.
I think you missed something…
Julie E. … Maybe you should take a reading comprehension course before you post another comment … and BTW if you are so tired of all the media attention ADAM is getting why don’t you find someone else to read about? Stay away from ADAM LAMBERT news! Have a good day.
Dear Michael, I agree with you 100%. No make that 1,000%. You, AfterElton and the Huffington Post have all said this so much better than I ever could have. It’s all so ridiculous … and unfortunate that it’s happening on the eve of Adam’s first major album release. Thanks for the honest words and the humor. All the best, A fan.