Singer Adam Lambert Claims ABC Temporarily Banned and Almost Sued Him After 2009 Same-Sex Kiss

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Singer Adam Lambert’s claims he was banned from ABC following his 2009 same-sex kiss at an awards show televised by the network.

According to Page Six, Lambert was honored at the 2023 Creative Coalition Spotlight Initiative Gala on Saturday and used his speech to discuss the hardships he has faced in his career. Lambert talked about his 2009 performance at the American Music Awards, which was broadcast by ABC, during which he kissed a fellow bandmate.

“I did the kind of performance I’d seen since I was a teenager. I was like, I want to be sexy and have dancers on stage, and I did a couple of suggestive moves with some of my dancers and an impromptu kiss with my bass player,” he said. “I was feeling it.”

Following the performance, Lambert said he found himself in hot water with ABC.

“The network was like, ‘How dare you?’ They banned me for a while. They threatened me with a lawsuit,” he alleged. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s where we’re at.’

“I didn’t know. I lived in a bubble in LA amongst artists and weirdos, and I didn’t realize that kind of thing ruffled feathers the way it did,” he added.

After the incident, Lambert was inspired to be his most authentic self, even if it got him in trouble.

“I’m going to be as gay as I f–king can be and be flamboyant and be wild and if it gets me into trouble, it gets me into trouble. I’m not going to back down from it,” Lambert said.

Mediaite has reached out to ABC for comment and will update this post if we hear back.