How Gay Is Too Gay for GMA?

For years people have joked that GMA stands for Gay Morning America. But if the decision to cancel Adam Lambert's appearance is any indication, Jon Barrett says, this is one show that is not gay enough.

By Jon Barrett

GOOD MORNING AMERICA CAST X390 (ABC) | ADVOCATE.COM

COMMENTARY: For years now my friends and I have joked that GMA stands for Gay Morning America rather than Good Morning America. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s not uncommon to see at least two of the show’s hosts on the ferry out to Fire Island or because GMA has notoriously been good on “our issues.” Just last week, for example, the show featured a terrific interview with Chaz Bono, who explained to Chris Cuomo — and all of America — that gender is “between your ears, not between your legs.”

But now GMA has jumped headfirst into the debate that has consumed pop culture-loving Americans this past week: Is Adam Lambert too gay (or, if you ask some, not gay enough)? And the show’s producers have come down definitively on the side of “too gay,” canceling the singer’s concert, which was scheduled to air live on the show Wednesday morning. According to TVNewser, GMA’s decision was based on Lambert’s Sunday night appearance at the American Music Awards, where he made out and simulated oral sex with another man on stage. “Given his controversial live performance on the AMAs, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning,” an ABC spokesman told TVNewser.

Just as ABC’s decision to protect its morning audiences from Lambert’s homosexual high jinks reeks of hypocrisy, so too does the network’s decision to edit out portions of his Sunday night performance for its West Coast feed. If it weren’t for provocative performances like his, awards shows like the American Music Awards would be snoozefests. Lambert, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Madonna are lifeblood for these shows — and producers probably peed themselves when Glambert pushed the envelope. By editing the West Coast version of the show, they got the best of both worlds — publicity from the live show and supposed moral standing for the edited one.

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Reader Comments

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Name: Toby
Date posted: 11/25/2009 9:23:04 PM
Hometown: New York

Comment:
Viva Adam! As for the comments from those here shocked about him- Mae West said it best "False Virtue is the Greatest Vice" And The Advocate editor is exposing himself as a dimwit being shocked over this show being anti-gay. That is as much as a revelation as when one of your liberal political hacks sells us down the river
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Name: Frank
Date posted: 11/25/2009 11:26:22 AM
Hometown: New York

Comment:
Adam did a great job on CBS this morning. I am dropping GMA for The Early Show on CBS. Rap "artists" sing about rape, gang banging women, drugs, murder and more - no one says a word.
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Name: Mark
Date posted: 11/25/2009 8:41:56 AM
Hometown: Miami

Comment:
Yes, Cathy: To posters like "Donna" every act to promote gayness will always be going "too far" "too radical" "might harm us in the eyes of those against us" etc. They would be against Stonewall, too. But the fact is they only bluster here in hiding and do nothing for gay rights in reality. Ignore them and their silly rants against Adam. He has alot of guts and I applaud him. Nothing is clearer than this article and board that this mag and its fans belong with the fakeness of Good Morning America with its 1950's gender fascist clothes while Adam Lambert and his supporters are the coming thing.
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Name: Mark
Date posted: 11/25/2009 8:40:42 AM
Hometown: Miami

Comment:
Yes, Cathy: To posters like "Donna" every act to promote gayness will always be going "too far" "too radical" "might harm us in the eyes of those against us" etc. They would be against Stonewall, too. But the fact is they only bluster here in hiding and do nothing for gay rights in reality. Ignore them and their silly rants against Adam. He has alot of guts and I applaud him. Nothing is clearer than this article and board that this mag and its fans belong with the fakeness of Good Morning America with its 1950's gender fascist clothes while Adam Lambert and his supporters are the coming thing.
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Name: Cathy
Date posted: 11/25/2009 8:17:51 AM
Hometown: New York

Comment:
We know that The Advocate has the political finesse of a stone and many of the people who post here are anti-gay bigots and self hating types. But lets get real. The problem is YOU not Adam Lambert. I just saw him on CBS and he was cheered by a big group of fans. Guess they don't have a problem with homosexuality on TV. Nor do I. And thank you, Robert, for being the vioce of reason on this board. Many of the rest should go to Anita Bryant Ministries. What really sets the Gay community back isn't Adam Lambert but those who still have a problem with sexuality and will always side with homophobes against a Gay person (Adam Lambert) under attack. Shame.
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Name: Tom
Date posted: 11/25/2009 7:57:09 AM
Hometown: VA

Comment:
While I disagree with canceling his performance on GMA, the boy, like a chunk of gay society, needs a lesson in acceptability. The kiss was fine..I had no problem with that, but I did have a problem with the crotch act. Most of the people commenting are for protecting Adam over this and I have heard people say that this over sexuality is part of our culture..Thats BS. It is no more acceptable for Adam to do that as it is for a female to do it. For god sakes everyone was upset at the kind of sort of almost seeing Janets breast (which you really didnt) simulating sex acts on national TV is wrong. We need to start acepting responsibility for our actions instead of say that the perverbial "man" is trying to keep us down
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Name: Donna
Date posted: 11/25/2009 6:55:56 AM
Hometown: Alma Michigan

Comment:
One bad decision (it was a bad decision on lambert's part) has hurt the LGBT community....and will continue to hurt us for a long time!
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Name: Calvin
Date posted: 11/25/2009 4:01:13 AM
Hometown: Chicago

Comment:
Sam Champion is NOT gay! He's a closet bisexual! And it doesn't matter whatever the fuck you think Rachael. You don't form my opinions for me!
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Name: Glenn
Date posted: 11/25/2009 2:03:40 AM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:
Personally, I don't think it was the kiss that got everybody up in arms. It's the crotch stuff. That's inappropriate by men or women on television. PERIOD. It's so sad that this self-serving fool is trying to make a name for himself by playing into the stereotype that gay men are sexual dogs. I don't expect a young rocker to come out and stand still at the microphone, but come on dude, have a little class.
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Name: rationalthinker
Date posted: 11/25/2009 12:16:53 AM
Hometown: boston

Comment:
1. news-flash: men making out on tv still isn't common. it's news. 2. the problem with comparing adam lambert to britney, christina, and madonna is the fact that they were all known when they started acting out on tv. who is adam lambert but that gay dude from american idol? when we no longer have to say "adam who," we can can compare him with the other mononymous artists. 3. if men making out is still news, you better believe gay fellatio, real or simulated, is a lot more for the world to take in. forgive the pun. finally 4. i would be more concerned with this "issue" if he didn't sound all kinds of terrible the other night. i don't know the audiences i'm talking to here, but i'm not going to accept crappy music to support a gay singer. there are too many other better gay singers.

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