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'Yes, sadly, friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. Don't blame them. It's the FCC heat.'
Adam Lambert
US TV cancels more Adam Lambert appearances after gay kiss
Openly gay American Idol discovery Adam Lambert, who created a storm of controversy at November's American Music Awards by kissing a man, has had more television appearances cancelled.
ABC, which received more than 1,500 complaints after Lambert kissed a male keyboard player and simulated oral sex with a male dancer, cancelled his scheduled appearance on Good Morning America a few days later.
Now, the singer has been told that his performances on ABC's late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! and New Year's Rockin' Eve show have also been pulled. On Wednesday, Lambert tweeted: "Yes, sadly, friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. Don't blame them. It's the FCC heat."
The FCC, which regulates the American television industry, received a complaint about Lambert's behaviour from The Liberty Council, an organisation closely tied to the late Rev Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Virginia. It provides legal assistance in defence of "Christian religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family." It described Lambert's performance as "obscene" and "indecent" and called on the FCC to fine ABC for "airing such an outrageously lewd and filthy performance during a show and time period that is targeted for family audiences."
Although Lambert's American Music Awards performance aired at 9.55pm central standard time, slightly before the FCC's 10pm watershed for the broadcast of less family-orientated material, both Jimmy Kimmel Live! and New Year's Rockin' Eve are broadcast at, or after 10pm. Executives at ABC have reportedly declined to discuss the reason for the cancellations.
