SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GAY PERFORMER, ADAM LAMBERT EDITION

In April of 2008 I published an article in The Advocate

in which I lamented the lack of support for gay male performers by gay male audiences. I noted that gay men will flock to see women such as Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Bette Midler and insert diva here, but when it comes to out male performers, most stay home. In my interviews with many of them, the story was always the same, such as in Provincetown, Mass., where lesbian comics and drag queens pack them in, but gay comics, and singers, struggle to fill half the room.

I know this from experience. I assumed that when I came out in 2001 on Comedy Central, as the first out male comic to do so, I could at least garner gay male support. I did, somewhat, but straight audiences have proven over the years to be more supportive. I say this without resentment - it’s just the way it is. Maybe I’m not hot enough. I’m closer to Mr. Drummond from “Diff’rent Strokes” than Zac Efron.

There’s a historical precedent in that gay men worshiped the female performers who loved them (Garland, Streisand, Bankhead, etc.) back in the bad old days of the closet, when identifying with a tortured diva was easier than identifying with a macho (and most likely antigay) male star. The out male performer is a new phenomenon, especially one who is out from the get-go. Elton John and George Michael came out long after they had pocketed their millions.

Gay gossip blogs have no problem outing gay male stars and publishing incriminating photos of them caught canoodling with a boyfriend, but then don’t support them when they come out, unless they’re, again, really hot. Bloggers, and Kathy Griffin, went after Clay Aiken for years. Griffin even called him “Gayken” with a nasty subtext that said, “Who is this queen kidding?” When he finally did come out, gays didn’t exactly push his CDs back onto the charts, as if to say, “Come out, you self-hating closet case – OK, thanks a lot, see you later, we never liked your music anyway.”

Enter Adam Lambert. The American Idol phenomenon kept mum about his sexuality during the show, reasoning that it would prove a distraction in a competition that was, in his words, “all about singing.” Immediately after it ended, he came out both in Rolling Stone and on 20/20. His confident candor was not only refreshing, it was exciting. Here was a gay performer who made it to the Idol finals with the support of millions of Americans, most of whom realized his sexuality and didn’t care.

RCA awarded him a record deal, pairing him with pop’s biggest talents. The producers of the disaster film 2012 gave him the end credits power ballad, a huge coup for any singer. On the Idol tour, Lambert got a rock star’s response largely from women, who screamed like they were in the Ed Sullivan audience for The Beatles, collectively wishing him to be Will to their Grace. A smattering of gay men were in the crowds, but nowhere near the numbers for Griffin, Cho and such.

But when gay blogs such as Towleroad, Joe My God and Queerty reported his every move, a glance at the comments sections proved depressing, as gay men snarked about his wardrobe, haircut, makeup, weight, acne and voice. Some said that he was too effeminate, too alternative, too “screechy” or an inadequate role model, since God forbid an out gay male be any less butch than Vin Diesel.

Then, on the eve of his CD release, Lambert shockingly shed his family-friendly Idol persona and performed his single “For Your Entertainment” on the American Music Awards. All gay hell broke loose. In a performance that included bondage gear, simulated oral sex and boy on boy kissing, Lambert instantly went from critic’s darling to lightning rod. Conservatives, always eager to find another gay man to hate, had a righteous coronary, complained to the FCC and did everything that right-wingers always do whenever a singer gives a controversial performance, from Presley to Jackson to Madonna. ABC said it received around 1500 complaints, which out of an audience of 14 million amounts to 0.01% of the audience, not exactly a barn-burning mandate.

But Lambert could count on gays to support him, right? After all, the editor of Out had just finished condemning Lambert’s management for requesting that his Out 100 interview not be “too gay.” Now, on ABC, Lambert was not only being too gay, he was bringing an East Village leather bar at 3AM to prime time. Gays would surely rally to his side.

Hardly. Many went after Lambert like he had defecated on their Mitchell Gold sofas. On site after site (and I had time to read them while stuck in a hotel between performances), gays accused Lambert’s in-your-gay-face performance of everything from potentially increasing gay bashing to destroying chances for marriage equality. They savagely attacked him for daring to be as gay as he wanted to be. In fact, the only difference between many gay comments and those of the deranged right was the absence of pejoratives like “faggot.”

Did Lambert deserve such condemnation? For his less than stellar vocals and ill-advised song choice, ever so slightly, but nowhere near the ensuing vitriol. It was just a dumb awards show, not half-time at the Super Bowl, and he committed no crime other than questionable taste. The criticism revealed both the antigay hatred of the right and the internalized homophobia of some gays. Here was an out performer who dared to say, “Guess what? I’m young, gay, hot and I’ll push a guy’s face into my crotch and tongue kiss the keyboard player if I feel like it, so fuck you.”

The good news is that, immediately after his AMA performance, Lambert appeared on David Letterman, CBS’ Early Show and Ellen to ecstatic audience response, and his CD debuted at #3 on the Billboard album chart. I bet that far more women than gay men bought it.

As rock radio is a bastion of straight machismo, some stations may refuse to play his music because of his too-gay performance. If there was ever an out performer who needed the support of his gay brethren, this is the one. Am I saying that gay men should support Lambert whether they like his music or not?

In the spirit of Sarah Silverman’s campaign to get Florida’s Jewish grandmas to vote for Obama, you bet. For once, gay men should unite behind a talented yet beleaguered brother instead of the latest dance diva. The support of a pop star is hardly our most pressing issue, but it’s easy and fun and would tell the right wing, who found a new target for their antigay hatred in Lambert, to go straight to hell.

If every gay man who bought Lady Gaga or Beyonce bought Lambert, it could knock Susan Boyle into last week. If you don’t like his music, buy it anyway and give it to someone who does like it for Christmas. Call radio stations and make Lambert requests. Send an email to TV shows demanding his appearance. If he goes on tour, buy a ticket and either go yourself or give it to your niece. If you are a DJ, remix his songs and make them dance floor sensations just like you did with the Pussycat Dolls.

The right wing consistently wins battles by setting aside petty differences and rallying against gays, abortion, stem-cell research, you name it. They don’t dither around and trash another Christian’s hair or wardrobe or fret that they aren’t a proper “role model.” They support adulterous, lying lawmakers as long as they’re Christian. They allow Limbaugh, Savage and Coulter to spread vile invective about liberals and gays, unchecked. They unite, which is why they have been able to fascistically take over the Republican party.

If the right can facilitate the success of a lunatic like Glenn Beck, the least we could do is the same for one of our own. If Lambert becomes a superstar impervious to their wrath, the right will have lost one more battle in the culture war, and the door would be opened for other gay men to do the same. If we can't help Lambert do it, gay performers can all just forget it.