This is a diary about American Idol. I’m saying it right up front. But this is also a diary about homophobia, which is an issue I care about. If you are not interested in this issue, there are a lot of excellent diaries about other subjects on the Recommended List right now and they are here ------>
So just venture over there. (And while you're at it, please read occams hatchet's diary, because it's important.)
So, as I said, this is a diary about American Idol, and yes, it’s Fox, but there’s an important issue here.
Love or hate (or having totally ignored) American Idol, it’s one of the top rated American television shows and it has become a part of American culture. And this year -- actually, tomorrow night -- those who watch the show will be casting their final votes for one of two contestants: Adam Lambert or Kris Allen. Ordinarily, the final vote on American Idol would have no business in a diary here at Daily Kos. But I think this year, it does. Here’s why.
Adam Lambert may be gay. He hasn’t said as much, one way or the other; and frankly, of course, I could care less. But the fact that (OMG) Adam Lambert is a semi-finalist for the top prize on the top show on a right-wing network has apparently gotten a lot of people semi-(or completely) crazed. And so, rather than considering whether he is perhaps the most talented performer ever to have been on the show (or certainly amongst the most talented -- considering the great talents of both Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood), the Foxphobes and their minions have decided to make his sexuality an issue. Because, heaven knows, this might bring in the homophobic viewing crowd and raise ratings on the final night of the show.
Accordingly, they have run crap like:
When you have Monica Crowley, "Ph.D." on as the "opposing voice," you know where you are. And it’s nowhere you want to be.
Sadly, though, the remaining stone tabletists at other Trad Med outlets have bought into this meme as well:
ABC News: "America’s First Gay Idol?"
There's the eyeliner. There's the YouTube video in which he declares kissing girls is "not necessarily" his preference. There are the Web photos of him making out with guys.
Lambert has never publicly acknowledged whether or not he's gay. But he did confirm that photos posted on the "American Idol"-mocking Web site votefortheworst.com depicting him dressed in drag and kissing another man were real . . . .
ABC News
And, OMG, The New York Times (home of plagiarist Maureen Dowd) has opined thusly: 'Idol Final Extra Question' to-wit:
As tens of millions of "American Idol" fans tune in to watch Adam Lambert and Kris Allen face off Tuesday evening in the program’s final round of competition, at 9 on Fox, the overhyped media question of the moment is whether the country is ready to hand the crown to an androgynous, seemingly gay 27-year-old fireball from San Diego. Or will his sexual ambiguity ("I know who I am," Mr. Lambert has replied to questions about his orientation) be an impediment? If Mr. Lambert eventually comes out, the way has been paved by the former contestant Clay Aiken, whose career hasn’t suffered for it.
Yup. An "overhyped media question" that The New York Times decided was fit to overhype just a little bit more.
This is what I know. I happen to like watching American Idol. And I happen to love Adam Lambert. Here are the audios (videos unavailable) of some of his amazing performances:
Mad World:
Tracks of My Tears (which made Smokey Robinson stand up and cheer)
Whole Lotta Love
I root for Adam because Adam can sing. And that should be what it’s all about.