Adam Lambert’s kinky moves are too hot for ABC but just right for CBS — from early morning to late at night.
Booted from ABC for his sexed-up shenanigans on Sunday’s American Music Awards, the glam rocker is set to perform on CBS’s “The Early Show” this morning and then on “The Late Show with David Letterman” tonight.
Lambert — an “American Idol” runner-up who came out as gay in a Rolling Stone interview this year — ripped ABC for pulling him from its lineup at the last minute, insisting that “GMA” would have had no problems hosting a sexy woman if she’d given the same steamy performance on stage that he did.
“I do think there’s a slight double standard,” the 27-year-old singer told Ryan Seacrest on the “Idol” host’s radio show.
“We’ve seen female pop performers doing extremely sexual routines for years, and all of the sudden, a guy does it, and it’s crazy.”
An ABC rep refused to respond to Lambert’s comments.
During the flashy rocker’s AMA show-closing, live performance on ABC, he groped a female dancer, kissed a male musician and shoved a male dancer’s face into his crotch.
Although the latter move was edited out of the West Coast airing, Lambert’s act drew more than 1,500 complaints to ABC from other viewers who saw it.
The outcry led “Good Morning America” to pull the plug on his scheduled appearance on its show today, fearing he’d repeat his over-the-top sex antics.
Canceling Lambert’s “GMA” performance “wasn’t a hard decision,” an ABC insider said.
“That performance wasn’t appropriate for morning TV, and no one wanted to take the chance that we’d see it again,” the source said.
But almost as soon as ABC canceled Lambert, the Tiffany Network signed him up.
Hours later, Letterman announced that Lambert would be on CBS’s signature late-night show. He will be performing two songs — but not “For Your Entertainment,” the song that got him in trouble.
“He’s a newsmaker, and we wanted to give him a chance to explain his side of the story,” a CBS spokeswoman said.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation agreed that Lambert’s AMA act would be too adult for morning viewers, but faulted ABC for not trusting the “Idol” performer to tone it down
“It is disappointing that ‘Good Morning America’ did not give Adam Lambert the opportunity to tailor his performance to their audience,” said GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios.
A GLAAD spokesman added, ” ‘Good Morning America’ confirmed that sexual orientation did not play a role in this decision. GLAAD advocated that ‘Good Morning America’ work with and host Adam Lambert and continue to host openly gay and lesbian performers and guests in the future.”