Double standards for femme fatales!
One of the local dailies captioned the cheeky dalliance with potentially x-rated material "Risque Business"
Meanwhile, the tongues of office workers wagged at water coolers around the country non-stop to a fever pitch.
At issue was Adam Lambert's in-your-face (literally!) American Music Awards stage performance - in which Fox TV's darling Pop Idol - grabbed his crotch suggestively at one climatic moment (then, planted a juicy kiss on a surprised male musician the next).
The impromptu spontaneous (there weren't any rehearsals?) stabs at notoriety - subsequently - triggered a shi*-load of negative e-mail and a barrage of irate phone calls to the network's switchboard from amrchair prudes in the heartland (and elsewhere, no doubt).
Initially, the Parents Television Council (the strongest vocal opponent in the wake of the controversy) appeared to be attacking the out & proud Diva, who some contend crossed the line (and bounds of decency).
But, in a release issued to the press hours later, PTC was inclined to condemn the Network, the advertisers, and the scheming producers (Dick Clark Productions) for broadcasting a show in the family hour which they asserted was "tasteless" and "vulgar" in the final analysis.
A director of communications for the watchdog group underscored that their criticisms were levelled at the performance (and the intrinsic nature of it) and not Lambert, or the song, per se.
I agree wholeheartedly that Networks should be mindful in respect to content in the bill-of-fare that is broadcast over the airwaves when viewers are tuning in during the family hour.
For good reason!
Kids are mimickers.
Once they catch sight of a pop icon thrusting their crotch into the face of another performer, they're likely to assume that the behaviour is "OK", and proceed to act out the scenario with fellow toddlers in the playground at the crack of dawn the following day.
Ouch!
ABC was quick on the uptake.
In a terse press statement, they noted that they were canceling a previously-slated performance by Lambert which was to air on "GMA" in the near future.
This response to viewer complaints dove-tailed nicely with prior assurances that they were not aware of the content that was initially planned by Lambert et al.
"ABC had seen Lambert in rehearsals and knew some of what he had planned, but not the extent," according to an AP report.
Notwithstanding, in any civilized society, care must be taken to ensure that debauchery is not allowed to creep in unchecked, take hold - and ultimately - corrupt our youth.
I applaud the efforts of organizations such as the Parents TV Council for taking a stand on the issues.
In other quarters, the controversial fiasco turned out to have a silver lining, though.
When ABC dropped Lambert with a big thud on their back doorstep, CBS rushed in with welcoming arms, and signed the newly-minted Pop Star for a gig on their not-so-picky open-to-controversy network.
Uh-huh!
Scandal begets ratings, big time!
Just ask Dave Letterman.
In response to all the media hoopla - and viewer outrage - Lambert was surprisingly apologetic.
"They gotta do what they gotta do."
"It's too bad, I think that there were a lot of fans who were excited to come see me," he added somewhat poignantly.
Just maybe, Lambert needs to don a bustier and net stockings to get some respect.
After all, some critics have labelled ABC TV's actions as hypocritical.
"The network applies different standards to sexual posturing depending on whether the performer is male or female," one commentator astutedy noted for the record.
Pop Icons like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Lady Gaga get away with murder in prime time, one internet surfer lamented in a blog post last night, in so many words.
For once, dudes have yet to break through the glass ceiling, in that topsy-turvy show-biz arena!
Scintillating Lambert splintered the heck out of it this week at the AMA's , that's for bloody - ooops! - bl**dy sure!
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