Dear Adam Lambert Fans: Chill Out!

Earlier today, we posted an article with the headline "Adam Lambert Rips Into Susan Boyle." *

Did we aim to capture the attention of readers with it? Of course. Did we then explain the situation - in which Lambert referred to Boyle's album as "terrible," laughed about her single "Wild Horses" and then said he was misquoted, while not providing his real quote - in great detail? Yes.

Did Lambert fans seem to care about the latter point? Not one bit.

The instant they saw one negative word written about Adam, his supporters went off. They told us we were being unfairly critical of the singer; that he was entitled to his opinion; that we were fueling the hate against him.

(* Through a debate with Lambert fans that we greatly appreciate, we changed this headline because we now agree it was unnecessarily inflammatory.)

Because we now feel as though we've been unfairly criticized, especially in light of the positive Lambert articles we've written for months, allow us to respond to each of these points:

• Adam is a mega celebrity. Every word he utters will be scrutinized. As such, he should have realized that his labeling of Boyle's album as "terrible" would result in the stir it's created. We simply pointed that out.
• Of course Lambert is entitled to his opinion. And we're entitled to respond to it with ours. This is the basis for all celebrity gossip sites, television reviews, movie reviews and pretty much every editorial ever written.
• Aside from those that simply don't have a taste for his music, people hate Adam Lambert for one reason: he is a proud, gay man. These critics are homophobes. We will never cater to them, we will only pity them and nothing we say will ever change their minds.

While we admire Lambert's fans for their enthusiasm and dedication, we sometimes feel as though they treat Adam like he's a child in need of their immediate, undying defense.

Lambert would be the first to tell them thank you... but calm down. He's not a saint. He's just a regular person. That's really Adam's main appeal: he's a normal guy that is open to discussing his sexuality and appreciates the opportunity he's been given.

But he may say a dumb thing or two. He may release a single we dislike. When that happens, we're gonna call Adam out on it. Are readers entitled to get mad at us for it? Absolutely.

We just fear they're defending Adam, almost coddling him, in a way he wouldn't appreciate. He's never asked for any special treatment. We're sure he wants nothing more than to be analyzed and written about like any artist out there.

This may result in some people hating him, and that's okay. It also may result in some of his biggest followers - like the THG staff - taking issue with a few of his decisions. Not only do we think this is also okay, we think it's exactly what Adam would want.

Posted in: Adam Lambert