• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD
You are here: Home / Adam Lambert / Nigel Lythgoe Responds To Adam Levine’s Gay ‘American Idol’ Criticism

Nigel Lythgoe Responds To Adam Levine’s Gay ‘American Idol’ Criticism

August 17, 2011 by Andrew Belonsky

NigelLythgoe Singer and The Voice judge Adam Levine didn't hold back in a recent Out magazine interview in which he accused rival show American Idol of covering up its contestants' homosexuality.

"What’s always pissed me off about Idol is wanting to mask that, for that to go unspoken,” Levine told the magazine. “C’mon. You can’t be publicly gay? At this point? On a singing competition? Give me a break. You can’t hide basic components of these people’s lives. The fact that The Voice didn’t have any qualms about being completely open about it is a great thing.”

Now Nigel Lythgoe, an American Idol producer and judge on So You Think You Can Dance, has responded, telling Entertainment Weekly that he doesn't consider contestants' sexuality to be a relevant issue for his shows:

I didn’t understand why we’re talking about contestants being gay or not gay. I don’t go into my dentist and say, “Are you gay?” I don’t say to contestants on So You Think You Can Dance, “Are you gay?”

What does it got to do with me? What does it got to do with anybody? When does privacy stop in this country?

If somebody wants to say they’re gay, it’s up to them. You don’t expect us to turn around and say, “Are you gay?” Why would we do that? — “By the way, he’s a Catholic and he supports Obama and here’s his sexuality” — what does that have anything to do with singing talent? Maybe it does for Adam Levine, but not for me.

Lythgoe goes on to discuss Adam Lambert, an American Idol runner-up who came out after his season had ended. "He must have come out before being on Idol, he just didn’t talk about it on Idol," said Lythgoe.

He went on: "And why should he [talk about it]? Is every actor going on television going to say, 'I’m only playing the part of a straight man, I’m really gay'? There’s no reason that I would see why anybody that goes on television should start coming out with who they are, what they are, what they’re sexuality is, who they’re going to vote for or what their religion is."

For his part, Lambert says he felt like his sexuality was "out of my control" during his time on Idol, primarily because he was not allowed to do any solo interviews.

Filed Under: Adam Lambert, News Tagged With: Adam Lambert, Adam Levine, music, News, Nigel Lythgoe

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Kelly Clarkson Belts Cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Shallow’ — WATCH

    Kelly Clarkson Belts Cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Shallow’ — WATCH

    21 mins ago
  • Citing New Evidence, Police Release Two Individuals Without Charges in Jussie Smollett Case

    Citing New Evidence, Police Release Two Individuals Without Charges in Jussie Smollett Case

    27 mins ago
  • Cardinal McCarrick Defrocked Over Child Sex Crimes in ‘Most Significant Abuse-Related Punishment in Modern History of Catholic Church’

    Cardinal McCarrick Defrocked Over Child Sex Crimes in ‘Most Significant Abuse-Related Punishment in Modern History of Catholic Church’

    51 mins ago
  • Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Marquis Evans, Roxane Gay, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jake Shears, Tom Sturridge, Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom Are Getting Married, and More: HOT LINKS

    Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Marquis Evans, Roxane Gay, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jake Shears, Tom Sturridge, Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom Are Getting Married, and More: HOT LINKS

    12 hours ago
  • UPDATE: Venezuelan Police Raid Leading HIV Org and Confiscate Life Saving Meds

    UPDATE: Venezuelan Police Raid Leading HIV Org and Confiscate Life Saving Meds

    15 hours ago
  • The Final ‘Star Wars’ Movie About The Skywalker Family Just Wrapped

    The Final ‘Star Wars’ Movie About The Skywalker Family Just Wrapped

    16 hours ago
  • Sarah Sanders Tells CNN That Robert Mueller’s Team Has Interviewed Her

    Sarah Sanders Tells CNN That Robert Mueller’s Team Has Interviewed Her

    17 hours ago
  • ‘The Only National Emergency Is That Our President Is An Idiot’ Ann Coulter

    ‘The Only National Emergency Is That Our President Is An Idiot’ Ann Coulter

    17 hours ago
  • NFL Settles With Colin Kaepernick

    NFL Settles With Colin Kaepernick

    18 hours ago
  • Rise In Meth Use Leads To Spike In Syphilis

    Rise In Meth Use Leads To Spike In Syphilis

    18 hours ago

Keep up with Provincetown:

Follow @PtownHacks on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and sign up for the Ptown Hacks email list.

Footer

Copyright © 2019 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in