I Am Absolutely DISGUSTED!
 

Last night on the American Music Awards, which I didn't watch, something happened that I think shows how far we have fallen in our society.

Our very own Adam Lambert....one of American Idol's best (well...in a lot of people's opinion ;)) put on a routine that thoroughly disgusted me. There was so much news on it today I had to watch...just had to.

This is a guy that was watched and "idolized" by millions of young teen-agers across our nation. I happen to live within 30 miles of where he grew up...his high school had Adam Lambert Day....so what does he do...well we puts on a show where he...

Whips some men/women? in bondage ...

pulls a woman's face to his crotch...

kisses another man...

grabs his own crotch...

fingers a woman on a pole....

Now ABC knew bazillions would be watching to see what MJ was going to win...many young people...

Why would they allow this raunchy garbage to be shown?

I just don't get it...

But then I don't get all the awards Taylor Swift is getting either...but I sure like the way she presents herself! :)

Is it because I am just an old (55) fogey now?

Yeah he is a real sicko! But it's all thanks to reality t.v. They have turned everything into a circus! it's like A CIRCUS ON BROADWAY! I watched the whole thing ~I Am a fan of whitney Houstons & was thrilled to hear her sing live & act well mannered and was dressed beautifully!

Ez I do not get it either & I am 33(will be 34 in 13 days LOL) So I guess I am becoming an old fogey too LOL!

EZMONEY, I agree with you. I don't think you are an "old fogey".

a. that performance was gross. Seriously, I am pretty liberal when it comes to censorship... but there was no need for that.

and

b. I think his performance sucked, lol. What happened to his voice?

he is trying to be the male version of Lady Gaga :)

The thing that gets me is that when he is not screaming, he has a beautiful voice. Absolutely beautiful. But that was.....wow. Just all kinds of uncomfortable to watch. Lady Gaga is bewildering to me, but at least she sounded good last night.

Honestly, I was equally uncomfortable watching Shakira do her pelvic thrusting on stage. That was nearly as gross as what Adam did. I tuned in for the music, not for to see people crudely mimicking sex. My mom called me and said, "No wonder our country is going to **** in a handbasket!"

This part I can comment on, at least...it was a live show. They tried to pan the cameras when objectionable things happened, and pulled the performance from West Coast airings altogether. So one has to assume he added some parts of it in after rehearsals.

In interviews he stated that he was trying to address the double standard between provocative performances by female artists (which are rarely censored, even if its an underage girl like Miley Cyrus pole dancing or almost anything by Britney Spears nowadays) and male artists (who are censored if they are overtly sexual onstage).

I have seen an awful lot of overt sexuality from female singers, and I do see his point, but wonder if that was quite the way to get it across.

Oh Favorite One...I can understand his point...totally...and anyone that has been around here long enough knows I am all male and have NO PROBLEM seeing Britney in "sexy" clothes/dances....

BUT....that doesn't make it right either!

And it isn't something we should allow the media to present to us...

my kids are grown...but I hope to have grand kids one day...

I can't even imagine what I would have thought or could say to a pre-teen/teen grandaughter or grandson of mine if they were watching with me...

of course by that time I will be at least 65-70 and sound asleep by the time the show came on...thank God! ;)

As I said, I don't think it was the way to get it across - just stating what he said in interviews, to provide context on motivation, and saying that I understand his point, but don't think he approached it well at all.

I'm sorry kiddo...I never thought in a million years that you would think what he did was appropriate...

I was just quoting you to go further on my thoughts w/o having to type it all in!

You can't be too much of an old fogey, I'm 24 and I've totally never heard of this guy. Granted pop music isn't my thing; it's usually pretty inescapable.

Ez ~my daughter was watching upstairs on her t.v. and clicked off the t.v.
&
She is 16!! She though it was all ridiculous!! I WAS SO AGGRAVATED THAT IT WAS ON T.V.

Actually, I'm on the west coast and I saw it. I didn't see one of the simulated acts that was supposedly mimed because apparently that act was edited out for the West Coast feed.....is that what you meant? What I saw was bad enough, so I guess I'm glad they edited that other stuff out.

Speaking of the AMA's in general; some of the songs were more silence (from bleeping out bad words) than they were song. That was pretty ridiculous. If you want your "song" (and I use the word loosely, since rap isn't really singing so much as chanting) to be heard, then don't have so many bad words that the network has to bleep half your song out. Jeez.

It's pretty bad when Green Day is the tamest thing on the show! (I love Green Day, so that was the high light to me).

I don't watch music awards or what not but I've seen glimpses over the past 20 years. Many people thought people like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, have had over the top performances or even Jimi Hendrix was pretty raunchy. I still remember Madonna widely humping a bed and groping her stage dancers and I was probably 13 when I saw that? Now I don't know who Alex Lambert is but I can say that it isn't something new to music.

Of course musicians do get away with it to some extent because it falls under the realm of 'art'. I can say I don't appreciate all forms of art and some things people call art doesn't seem anything like art to me at least. Of course musicians should recognize at some point that people don't enjoy their form of 'art' and may stop watching them due to that. I don't think it has negatively affected too many other musicians in the past though.

Oh don't get me started on rap WINDCHIME...I'm the one that said it wouldn't last...20-25 years ago I think....ouch!!!

NELLIE... my dear ex-neighbor...I understand what you are saying...some artists lived on the "edge" at times...I really feel last night's show not only went to the edge but deep...deep into the gutter....

EZ - I'm not doubting you :) I just definitely think it has precedence and I didn't see it myself so I can't say anything. Although overall, I'm not really surprised what is on tv these days.

NELIE ~ No hard feelings here dear...I never once thought you were doubting me and I know you would not be in favor of what was on last night either....

I was just making comment that (because you had not seen it) it was lower than most people (I think anyway) would allow if they had control over it.

I like Taylor Swift its nice to finaly see a good girl get some attention and not be all raunchy :) I guess she gets a lot of attention because she writes most of her music and she's young? lol idk that's what I thought :)

EZ I hope your wife takes it ezzzzzzz on ya About the faucet you was talking about in your other thread....LOL

LORI go check out my VEGGIE CHALLENGED thread tonight...does she look like she is OVER IT?....lol

ok ~Will do.

She is a beautiful girl but honestly......she doesn't really seem like she can carry a tune to me. Maybe her style just isn't something that translates well to my ear. I do think she is really accomplished, though. I saw a special about her (on Dateline, maybe?) and it looks like she has total control over her concerts; all the planning, the musicians, everything. That's amazing to me, that a 19 year old girl is so accomplished and talented. And she was definitely miles ahead of most of the crowd last night, in terms of being classy and decent!

Yeah, I think we might be old fogies. I just don't see the appeal of chanting about violence, calling your woman all kinds of horrible names, and having to cuss every-other word. It's not musical or pleasant to me in the least.

WINDCHIME I have mentioned it before but one of the saddest days of my life was when I went to pick up my 8th grade son at school...he gets in the truck...all teared up...saying Tupac's dead...

I say (AND WRONG TO DO SO!!!)..."so EFFIN what"

my son says..."how can you say that dad?"...

"easy son...easy"

Maybe I didn't handle it right...OK...I did not handle it right...but seriously...I had zero...zero...feelings for the guy...but I do for my son.

I dunno..I found his preformance really BORING!! He was so pitchy too. I could care less about crotch grabbing..I grew up watching Michael Jackson. So that didnt shock me. I was shocked that they showed him stimulate oral sex. I mean..you expect that on MTV, not on regular tv. But actually seeing that, didnt shock me. Nothing shocks me anymore. This is probably why I dont listen to popular music as much as I used to. Although, I do really like Taylor Swift, LOL!!

I hadn't actually watched this before, and just did - and I really didn't see anything that I hadn't seen a female performer do before. So again, I see his point about the fact that HE was so terribly offensive while some other female performer that pushes that envelope don't find themselves under the same kind of fire. Heck, when Britney and Madonna kissed at the VMAs in 2003, I don't remember it being this scandalous. So a double standard definitely does exist here.

I'd personally like to see ALL performances to a more family-friendly level - not to mention the lyrics. And I really do wish more artists would rise above that.

GROSS!! I am sick of the garbage...

The kiss didn't bother me. It was that the whole performance seemed.....angry or something. I guess it was the S&M, "angry" angle that bothered me more than anything. I've never been a big fan of the crotch-grabbing thing that entertainers all seem to need/want to do, but whatever.

This, for sure. I know that I was pretty relieved that I didn't have kids watching with me last night. My 70 year old Mom is an Adam fan but I'm glad she gave up and turned off the TV after Lady Gaga. LOL, she was REALLY confused and annoyed by her! I find her strange (Lady Gaga, not Mom :) ) but I think she's got a beautiful voice.

Heh, I didn't see it, but from a long line of rock/pop stars misbehavin', he's what everyone is talking about today.

Seriously I think we could debate from now until eternity what is acceptable when we deal with age differences...sexual differences...moral differences...

All I know is that in my lifetime of 55 years...I have seen things change...slowly...over time...

And in my opinion it has not changed for the good of humanity...

there was a time when a married man and a married woman couldn't kiss on TV or even be seen sleeping in the same bed on TV...

not saying that is right...but I am saying...

what is allowed on television today is wrong...flat out wrong!

and it is only going to get worse....

true...but thank goodness according to the polls out on it..over 80% are upset about it...hope?...maybe after all.... there is hope for our future....

well i watched it. i didn't even know who this guy was. for me the most offensive part by far was his singing... but the whole fingering move with the girl on the pole was just - too much, ugh! definitely wouldn't want kids watching that- but that could be said about any of these performances- you never know what crap is going to come up- or off... that's what's great about tivo, if you're worried about it you can scan it, fast forward through it or delete it!

Glory, I absolutely agree! I do think that he is extremely talented. I'm an American Idol junkie and he really stood out from the pack IMHO. I love his singing voice; for those who haven't heard it, they should google up his "Mad World" performance on YouTube. He got people talking, that's for sure! I still think that last night wasn't a great performance, though; it didn't really do him justice and it was a little too naughty for my taste.

Well I thought his performance was amazing and your comments were quite frankly, homophobic and disgusting.

I am a huge fan, and I didn't even watch him on American Idol. Artists have been pushing the envelope for decades, this is nothing new, and if anything, it tells young gay teenagers that it's OK to be who you are in public, and that you shouldn't be ashamed of your sexuality.

America needs a musician like Adam Lambert. He's an amazing singer, and he's openly gay, and there aren't that many openly gay, talented singers out there for gay teenagers (and adults) to look up to. He's got his head on his shoulders, and I think he's a positive role model.

I'm sorry, but this just makes me sad, because homophobia is still rampant, and people like Lambert (and me) are trying to stop it.

That's because it's pure sexism. It's a double standard. It's OK for a woman (straight or gay) to kiss another woman (or sing about it), but the *second* a gay man does it, it's disgusting.

http://www.b itchmagazine.org/post/sapphic-salon-the-adam-lambert-double-standard

(I had to put a space because it would have been starred)

God forbid a man perform dance moves like that, but it's OK for Britney spears to appear nude onstage (remember the flesh-colored body suit?) and gyrate and hump male back-up dancers and make out with Madonna.

It's quite interesting to read the responses in this thread.

The view of those of us in the rest of the world (pretty well universally) is that the US has a slightly screwed set of morals. On the one hand, people are up in arms over a homosexual kiss and a higher than acceptable for some hand action. On the other hand most people have the right to carry a firearm, and there are graphic shots of people getting their heads blown off on tv every night, either on the cop/detective fiction shows or on the news.

So graphic violence is ok, but sex isn't? Sorry, I disagree (not quite so vehemently as sunflowergirl!) as well. The outfits that Britney et al wear, and their cavorting on stage hasn't led to so much as a whimper from the moral majority, but as soon as a guy does the same thing he's shot down in flames. Something isn't quite right about that.

Honestly, some of Janet Jackson's shows in the past have made Britney's antics seem TAME. I've seen clips of her simulating actual sexual movements with a man strapped to a bed on STAGE.

I think entertainment in GENERAL has become too graphic. We're no longer talking "scandalous" hip shaking by Elvis. It's progressed far and beyond what I (a liberal woman in my late 20s) can even call entertaining.

I can't speak for everyone else, but for ME at least it's got nothing to do with Adam Lambert's sexual orientation. I didn't care about the kiss...it was everything else. It's too much for ANYONE, gay or straight, to do in a live performance at an awards show. If you're not convinced you're good enough to wow people with your voice and have to pull all kinds of stupid stunts to get attention (a la Lady Gaga, Britney, many others and now Adam) then find a new career.

What is sad though is the number of people who weren't shocked at ALL by the performance. It stinks that so many of my peers and younger have become totally desensitized to sexual acts (real or fake) and violence.

As a bisexual in a serious relationship with a transgendered ftm (female-to-male), I consider myself pretty open minded. I understand the message he was trying to convey, but feel he took it too far. I watched the clip on youtube and was reading through the comments which ranged from wholeheartedly supportive to outraged. Many of the comments left were also homophobic, and ranting about why they'd ever grant people like THAT the right to marry or adopt children. With the entertainment biz it's in the name of the game to shock the public and have scandalous debuts; and that's fine, when it's your own image. However, representing a culture which is already so heavily shunned in the world, and doing so in a rather risque way, does nothing but harm for the people who will then be associated with him. I, for one, was not appreciative. :nono:

I consider myself to be a very open individual and find most of the comments above to have a homophobic tinge. This dicotomy of morals is exactly what most people around the world hate about americans. People are carrying guns in their pockets, video games are violent beyond comprehension, but a nipple is illegal? So what if sex was portrayed on tv? I'd rather have sex than constant bludgering and murder in my face.

That said I don't think Adam Lambert has reached the point in his career where he should be taking risks like this. I don't need him to educate me. Is his career going to be about music or is it going to be about political statements? I'm tired of Hollywood pushing their views on us. Those who think of themselves as role models abuse their influence, and those that don't live lives of excess in the public eye which is far removed from any reality we can achieve.

Definitely no problem with him kissing a man (or a woman!) on stage, I do think simulated oral sex is going over the top. There is no double standard, I wouldn't want to see a woman simulate oral sex on stage either. Kissing is fine, though :)