Disney must have not finished reviewing how it will treat live performances from (gay) artists yet, because its ABC network just yanked Adam Lambert’s Dec. 17 appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show show and his Dec. 31 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve stint. But can ABC place some of the blame on the Federal Communications Commission?
Well, they’re trying.
And it looks like Lambert — who announced the cancelations via Twitter — is helping out the network that already booted him from its airwaves.
But it’s all completely unnecessary — because both programs air after 10pm, hours the FCC doesn’t care about. Yes, even on broadcast.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“The FCC has determined, with the approval of the courts, that there is a reasonable risk that children will be in the audience from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., local time. Therefore, the FCC prohibits station licensees from broadcasting indecent material during that period,” the LAT repeats verbatim from the federal organization.
Lambert’s Kimmel appearance would have been after 12am, and given the nature of what
Rockin’ Eve is all about, his stop on ABC’s New Year’s show would likely fit in the post-10pm timeframe as well.
But alas, Adam is still too edgy for ABC. And if other networks were smart — as they have been — they’d scoop him up pronto.
SouLKid
I dont know why anyone cares. Adam is better off without ABC.
They can stick to their woman beaters. Chris Brown isn’t even gonna get them as many viewers as Adam would have. Let alone get more viewers than Rihanna’s interview.
Josh
ABC is punishing him and making an example out of him.
Pink had a male dancer simulate oral sex on her at the 2003 BillBoard music awards on Fox (the clip is on youtube) and there wasn’t this level of outrage.
Complain to ABC…
Anne Sweeney, President
ABC Entertainment
500 S. Buena Vista St
Burbank, CA 91521-4551
Anne Sweeney is the one that was recently interviewed by Reuters and she implied that Adam wasn’t suitable for children period. She said they were right to cancel his GMA performance because children could be watching.
Of course Adam planned a completely harmless performance for GMA as he did on the Early Show.
romeo
This is really building up into something. The news cycle is being extended and extended. Major newspapers still reporting on it, columnists still showing interest. And all of it giving Adam’s career an impetus it would not have gained if he had just done the expected at the AMA’s. The haters were going to hate him no matter what he did, but potential new, younger fans might have grown bored with the “Hallmark” version of Adam ABC would have preferred.
Messy as it is, I think this is the best thing that could have happened to Adam long term. “Banned in Boston” used to be the biggest box office credential. LOL Guess it’s “Banned on ABC” now. We’ll see. Go Adam !!!
joliee
Pink did the EXACT same move with her male dancer in 2004 on FOX, and live no less. You don’t remember??? You don’t remember because no one made a peep about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPpSpBcs4wg
ChrisM
This is ABC realizing they were wrong to cancel Adam’s first performance, but being too scared to admit it. So they cut all connections of their channel with him so they don’t have to deal with their own hypocrisy.
This IS a win for Adam, if anything ABC is coming off as unbelievably puritanical for the 2000’s. I doubt even the people who agreed with ABC about the AMA’s would find this necessary.
Keith Kimmel
Well, the boycott ABC movement is picking up steam in light of ABC’s stupidity. 100 new members in less than 12 hours. Will this move cost ABC the network?
Join the Boycott.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184007987035
GrrrlRomeo
ABC is probably getting letters from the American Family Association or some similar org.
romeo
Forget ABC, Adam needs to get more pictures in the public eye like the beautifully posed shot he has coming out in People magazine. It was posted on another thread. Pretty much perfection. That’s the kind of stuff that really makes you a star. ABC is going to look nothing but lame over this.
terrwill
ABC has changed its call tag to:
A ll
B isaed
C onsetives
And yea GRRLROMEO the AFA ake American Facist Association
has a neat little feature, they send out a cookie cutter
mass e-mail blast to their lemmings, they simply cut and
paste to the address they are directed to and said inbox
is flooded with “outraged viewers” who most likely wouldn’t
know Adam Lambert if he dry humped their face personally.
We need a similar Gay org to mimic the same shit the rightwing-nutbag lunatics have perfected and been doing for years…….
romeo
Grrlromeo ?! I think I’m getting ripped off! LOL
David Ehrenstein
Where’s GLAAD in all of this?
Sleeping of course.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@ David Ehrenstein
Lol, exactly…
RomanHans
Anne Sweeney’s explanation: “We certainly don’t want to suppress artistry at any level, but we also have to be very cognizant of who our audience is.”
Meaning:
1. Jimmy Kimmel is a bullshit corporate tool pretending to be counterculture;
2. ABC wants to make sure their programs are safe for homophobes to watch; and
3. When you pretend you’re gay-fucking somebody, it better be Ben Affleck.
At sdsmail.org you can mass-email a bunch of Disney folks — in my note, I pointedly said that any gays who worked there were officially Uncle Toms now — and email to [email protected] seems to work.
GrrrlRomeo
Sorry Romeo, I’ve been posting as GrrrlRomeo on the Interwebs since 1996 or so. 😉
Yes, I’m old enough to remember the AFA boycott/letter campaign against Ellen when she came out. They do their thing so often you’d think networks would just start ignoring them.
One time the gays boycotted/wrote enough to get Dr. Laura off TV. That seems to be only successful campaign against a program that was organized by gays at a netroots level (no GLAAD involvement that I can recall).
ksyxx
Maybe someone at ABC [also] finds Lambert an overrated blowhard (…no pun intended) and don’t want to pay into all the hype and is just using the performances as an flimsy excuse to keep him off the network for a long as possible.
Erick
Well, ABCs response to After Elton:
“We decided not to move forward with the booking at this time.” “That is all that the network is going to say about the matter”
So there you have it. Is it ABC or ASS?
Reny
@joliee: “Pink did the EXACT same move with her male dancer in 2004 on FOX, and live no less. You don’t remember???”
LOL. Only the former Claymates would remember that one. Also, the network did not complain about Pink adding that move after the rehearsals, so they must not have been blindsided by it at the live show.
@David Ehrenstein “Where’s GLAAD in all of this?”
Perhaps they have grown a brain, and realized that Glambert’s freak show was damaging to the gay cause. To paraphrase the old saying, you’ll catch more flies with honey than with giving them the middle finger.
brian
Women are allowed to get away with murder, basically. Once a man does it, all hell breaks loose. This double standard has been brought about by liberals.
read-between-the-lines
The choreographer was an RCA person. ABC saw the rehearsals as did the fans who were shown teasers. There are stills showing the dancer on his knees approaching Lambert’s belt. It appears there was an approximate 10 inch or so difference between the rehersal and live. Lambert stipulates the kiss was originally a hair grab so ABC knew enough to be on alert.
All directors on tv and their camera people have detailed scripts in advance and during the show blocking each move. This is basic, everyone knows it. The director knows the technical moves and they are run through many times. Nothing is left to chance. The director could have easily called for a different camera shot.
The ABC “censor” (read director) hit the AUDIO censor in error instead of the VIDEO when the dancer was pulled that 10 inches too close. We heard silence during the bj. There was no reason to censor lyrics they are clean especially at that moment. The silence was confusing while seeing the bj and THAT was the “problem”. Even the song’s writer was puzzled since it was clean.
Lambert is paying for a 10 inch judgement “lapse” [perhaps, if THAT] and ABC’s incompetence during the show. A show they pimped like no other as the most shocking thing ever seen on T.V.
The only other acceptable explanation is that ABC’s allowing the images was intentional.
Reny
@read-between-the-lines: “All directors on tv and their camera people have detailed scripts in advance and during the show blocking each move. This is basic, everyone knows it. The director knows the technical moves and they are run through many times. Nothing is left to chance. The director could have easily called for a different camera shot.”
That director is not a mind-reader, and could not anticipate that one of the acts might decide to go off-script and “enhance” his performance for shock value. You remind me of Glambert blaming the parents for letting their children stay up and watch him perform on the show. Where would he be if those same children did not vote for his ungrateful ass on American Idol?
Alexa
Maybe we should listen to Adam about this and trust that he has more information than us. ABC is reacting to a complaint filed with the FCC by the homophobic right wing Christian group the Liberty Counsel.
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
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.”
Mard
what do you want from me is a great song. fuck abc.
S.
BS!!—>GLAAD and ABC are at peace over Adam Lambert
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/12/glaad-and-abc-are-at-peace-over-adam-lambert.html
Swarm
Someone who’s curious can file an FCC Freedom of Information Act request to obtain all available redacted documents beginning with the complaint. I would do three. One now, one in the middle and one at the end of any investigation.
You can expect to see:
The Complaint and it’s path
The supporting investigation docs
Any correspondence relevant to the event from the public
Any resolution and the basis for it
Whereas they are protected, you can expect to not see:
Intra & Inter agency memos
Deliberative memos
Personally identifiable info i.e.citizen names
I would do it myself but I am up to my ears in FOIAs from real life.
IMO This will focus on the 9:55CST p.m showing possibly being outside of the safe harbor zone AND community standards, the dicey one. Adam can say whatever he wants but people are writing and calling their local channels to say they did NOT find it offensive to balance the community standards pov.
@Reny the AMA’s were rated PG 14+. Been to a prom or seen a video lately?
Swarm
Sorry, link here for this agency’s FOIA:
.HERE: http://www.fcc.gov/foia/
romeo
GLAAD caved to ABC’s threats to not be gay friendly in the future I would bet. A pretty useless organization has made itself irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. If ABC was putting the arm on them, GLAAD’s responsibility was to make it public. That’s what they’re supposed to be all about. Who appoints the people at GLAAD? What kind of standards are they held to?
ABC has BLACKLISTED Adam Lambert because of a double standard, and they got our supposed pre-eminent anti-defamation organization to cave into it. That’s what the history of this will show.
I’ve always like Diane Sawyer, and I looked forward to making her my evening news anchor. Sorry Diane, I’ll just never feel right about tuning you in now.
romeo
Where does GLAAD get it’s money. The usual places? If they’re going to be in bed with the enemy, what the fuck good are they to us. I’d say we needed a competing organization. Straights make fun of GLAAD anyway.
Lil
For whatever reason, ABC had decided to single-handily destroy Mr. Lambert. They are out in their full force, with vendetta spelled in bold. Whatever the crime was on the 22nd November, the punishment is not only cruel and unusual, it is also made to inflict as much pain to Mr. Lambert and his fans as possible. When you collectively see what’s on TV, including ABC’s own shows – they are being openly hypocritical, homophobic and right-out blacklisting Adam for being.. Adam.
Bottom line is ABC is going out of their way to hurt, humiliate and destroy the best male artist the US has produced in a generation or two. As of yesterday, ABC and their various affiliates have been blocked via the DVR in my house and as much as I enjoyed some of Disney’s movies, I will not be spending my hard-earned dollars on anything remotely connected to Disney/ABC or their sponsors.
Bianca
I’m shocked about GLAAD. That’s all.
seanboy
Do any of you watch ABC? To accuse the network of having issues with gays is ridiculous seeing that they are the most gay friendly network out there…. BROTHERS & SISTERS, UGLY BETTY, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, ONE LIFE TO LIVE and GREY’S ANATOMY are all great shows with GLBT characters. Maybe they just think Adam isn’t that good and worthy of air time.
Carlton W
I stumbled across the complaint The Liberty Councel filed to the FCC. They called his act vulgar and repulsive and against Christian family values. Problem #1 – Not everyone is Christian and not everyone should have to adhere to what they dictate moral values should be. They had 3 complaints
1) Simulated oral sex
2) Simualted digit penetration (I must haved missed that one. I saw his snapping a girl’s tights at the crotch)
3) Open Mouthed Homosexual Kissing
Yup, they called homosexual kissing in their statement vulgar and repulsive and against good Christian Values.
The problem the Liberty councel had wasn’t that the performance was too vulgar but it was too gay.
romeo
And maybe you’re an ABC staffer, Seanboy. LOL
Network executives come and go, gay people are forever no matter what they do to us.
As for LGBT portrayals on network TV, they are almost always portrayed as clowns, or emotional cripples unable to stand up for themselves and consider themselves on an equal footing with the straight world.
Swarm
Hai Romeo, hai…Well speaking of CLOWNS…
I never watched Kimmel before… he’s a creepy dude. Unwatchable. They’re passing around his monologue from last night..some gay MOCKING routine..@ around 8:50 to 12:00. The straight fangirls think he’s “supporting” Adam. uh…no.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/112594/jimmy-kimmel-live-wed-dec-2-2009
Overall Adam is not crashing one bit IMO. He’s everywhere. He picked up a load of spins this week and is about 3/4 of the way to the level you need for top 40 constant play.
TONS of radio interviews with enthusiastic dj’s all day and the Hard Rock Cafe SD thing with big pomp going on. His album came in #7 on the most used world chart and he’s not been released in AU or a bunch of Asia Pac countries.
Subo did 1.284.000 units!
This Grammy awards nomination video from yesterday has him at 2:02 getting the only applause of the segment. Jesus, this guy is charisma personified especially in that video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzt2OoMIiFg&feature=player_embedded#
Here, just for YOU:): http://tiny.cc/fZF0g
Helaine Ferebee
Is anyone here old enough to remember Anita Bryant and the Orange Juice boycott???? I say let’s show ABC how gays can support their own by boycotting ABC until they get their heads out of their arses!!! I am already no longer watching their stations, including ABC Family. We should all show Adam support by doing the same….
Carlton W
Seanboy: ABC only likes it’s gay men castrated and mewing little kittens. Safe, warm, friendly. They like the sterotype. Lambert is far from the sterotype and it scares them. Gay men on ABC can not be overtly sexual in anyway. So what’s your position with ABC?
ChrisM
Wow, Kimmel is a douchebag. Adam Lambert shouldn’t have agreed to do his show in the first place
Reny
@Carlton W: “So what’s your position with ABC?”
Their position is puppets on a string manipulated by overzealous Glambert fans.
As LIL said, “Bottom line is ABC is going out of their way to hurt, humiliate and destroy the best male artist the US has produced in a generation or two.”
That’s what it’s all about. ABC hurt The Precious, and the Glamberts want it to suffer. Don’t kid yourself that it has anything to do with gay rights.
romeo
Hi, Swarm #33, thanks for the update. Glad he’s hanging in there. His tweet from a day or so ago made me think he was kind of losing heart. I’d hate for that to happen. He’s up against some major assholes, including some of his own, namely GLAAD.
But, Jesus, just think of the juicy autobiography he’s going to be able to write someday. LOL (they’ll be reading it with “I Will Survive” playing in the background !) I said on one of these threads that it was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. He’s growing taller with this in a lot of different ways.
And here the poor guy didn’t want to be political. Sorry, Adam, history and destiny came a knocking. LMAO!
romeo
Oh, Reny, come off it.
Carlton W
@Reny I got to agree with you on that one. ABC only bends to those who scream the loudest. They could give a sh*t about gay rights. They want the gay man to look how they want him to be – safe. FYI GLAAD is now back peddling a bit. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/12/glaad-clarifies-its-position-regarding-adam-lambert-and-asks-abc-for-an-explanation.html
ChrisM
Reny, I’m not even an Adam Lambert fan. I don’t have his taste in music, and I really don’t find him very attractive. But I definitely can sympathize with him, seeing as his performance’s “vulgarity” was only deemed worse than his peers because straights noticed it more when it was two people of the same sex. Why can’t you see this?
I think you’re wrong to say he’s hurting the “gay cause.” If that’s how Lambert is, that’s how he is. If straight performers act that way (granted they have their opponents, but they are also still given an audience), then gay performers should expect their similar acts to be treated by the same standards.
ABC IS going out of their way to hurt Lambert. Because Lambert caused them to cause themselves trouble. Some homophobes complained about his performance. Caving in to their stupid ass requests, ABC rightfully got called out on its double standards. Now they have taken shit from the homophobes and the non-homophobes, and instead of blaming themselves they want to punish Adam Lambert for how badly they handled this.
Reny
@ChrisM: “But I definitely can sympathize with him, seeing as his performance’s “vulgarity” was only deemed worse than his peers because straights noticed it more when it was two people of the same sex. Why can’t you see this?”
Because I’m not buying into the BS his handlers are feeding you, that’s why. If they make it about the same-sex kiss, then maybe the public will forget about the simulated fellatio and flipping the bird to the audience, which were far more offensive and inappropriate parts of his performance.
“If straight performers act that way (granted they have their opponents, but they are also still given an audience), then gay performers should expect their similar acts to be treated by the same standards.”
Can you name a single straight person that performed a similar act on ABC primetime and got away with it? Pink did it on FOX, which is not owned by Disney, so its not a valid example.
Anyone else?
romeo
Reny: Let me repeat what has been stated many times about that AMA show. Right out of the gate, early in the evening, a woman salaciously put her hand firmly on the genitals of a young man. And this was a lady that’s caused quite an uproar before. Also, a little later, but still early in the evening, a rapper boasted about unspeakable violence to women, really edifying for the kiddies. And no one is saying shit about any of that. As for the bird being flipped, where you been, baby? It’s flipped all over prime time, sometimes the offending digit is blurred, sometimes not. But that was all heterosexual stuff. The gay guy is in trouble because he’s GAY!, and ABC is selectively blowing smoke out there asses because in reality they DON’T think we’re equal, and they’re more than happy to fall in line with right-wing religious fanatics – who are only offended about Adam’s performance that night.
Reny, you can defend ABC/Disney here all you want. Most of the rest of us know what we’re looking at.
ChrisM
No, Reny, his handlers did not make this about the same-sex kiss. The people who complained to ABC, and whom ABC eventually caved in to, did. Have you read any comments on this story at non-LGBT sites? Most of the complaints reference the same-sex kiss specifically, or otherwise reveal that the offended person was uncomfortable with the display of homosexuality. I won’t even acknowledge the insinuation that the middle finger played a role – if our minds can handle subconsciously filling in the F-bombs and S-bombs that are being dropped by Eminem left and right, then I don’t think a middle finger should be upsetting us.
As for the simulated fellatio, no, I cannot name another person who did this on ABC. But I don’t think Pink’s having done it on FOX changes the argument. The standards for acceptable performances are the same across the major networks, because television viewers have decided the standards (You can say this is untrue because Disney owns ABC. But then I say why the hell is Disney having Eminem bragging about raping 17 women on their channel when children are watching?). The homophobia starts with the viewers. People didn’t complain about Pink, people didn’t make it into this controversy that we have with Adam Lambert because they’re comfortable with (or at least tolerant of) most kinds of raging heterosexuality nowadays. People DID complain about Adam Lambert’s performance, and instead of recognizing the double standards that these homophobic viewers hold, ABC decided to endorse those double standards.
James & James
@Reny: Yeah, I can think of a couple of examples of simulated hetero fellatio on ABC prime time that did not get censored.
– Courtney Cox’s character was shown performing oral sex on her partner on Cougar Town (I think the first or second episode?) which aired on ABC in prime time. I don’t have a link for this one, sorry.
– There was at least one fellatio dance move that aired on Dancing with the stars, from 2:21 at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HlPQcUFIoM
Hetero kissing and/or people giving the finger airs so often you don’t really need me to come up with links for those, right?
alan brickman
I’m worried about gay teens considering ending their lives …this dosen’t help…
romeo
LOL, couldn’t help dropping in to let you all know that now ABC has scheduled Adam for The View. Interview and performance. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
He’s on the 10th.
Swarm, did I scoop you?
Swarm
LOl you sure did, bb. So many threads. I feel like you’re getting lost in the department store LOL.