CBS's Early Show blurred Adam Lambert's AMA performance when he appeared on the morning show, but aired, uncensored, the infamous Madonna/Britney lip-lock. Why? A show rep says it's because Lambert's kiss is the "subject of great current controversy."
Adam Lambert took to the stage of CBS's The Early Show Wednesday morning, after being rejected by ABC’s Good Morning America because of his controversial finale at the American Music Awards Sunday night.
Lambert performed and spoke with coanchor Maggie Rodriguez. He told her he had “no clue” that his performance of his lead single, “For Your Entertainment,” would prompt such a stir during the AMA broadcast. Racy stills of Lambert's provocative performance were blurred by CBS, blocking the images of the singer simulating oral sex and kissing his keyboardist.
However, just moments later, the kiss that rocked the 2003 MTV Awards between Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera was shown in its full glory, as pointed out by Towleroad.
Wednesday afternoon, CBS issued the following statement: "We gave this some real thought. The Madonna image is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning television. The Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences."
Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said CBS's decision illustrated "an unfortunate double standard" that is too often held up for gay performers
“I would have hoped CBS would provide the same treatment for images of gay and lesbian people and not create an unfair double standard that treats our community differently,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “CBS regularly shows kisses throughout every daypart. The kiss was not blurred on ABC nor in news coverage on other networks. While we continue to applaud The Early Show for featuring Adam Lambert today, we have reached out to the show’s producers to express our concerns about their decision and offer ways they can make their coverage of gay and transgender people more fair.”
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