Adam Lambert's Label: Don't Be "Too Gay"

Out Magazine calls Glambert to be a "true" gay star.

Adam Lambert never fails to stir convo. Out Magazine has published this year's issue of America's Top 100 gay personalities, and Adam Lambert appears on the cover, falling on Out's list list as the breakout star of 2009. Exciting, right? But the Out editor-in-chief published his own letter to Adam Lambert, claiming that American Idol and Lambert's record label and management have stated they don't want Lambert to appear "too gay."

"Dear Adam," Out EIC Aaron Hicklin writes, "Although you narrowly lost to Kris Allen, you were the real winner for those of us who saw your success as a test of America's growing tolerance. That's why we're proud to have you in this year's Out 100, along with all the other men and women who don't believe their sexuality should be a barrier to success. It's unfortunate, therefore, that your record label and management don't share the same view.

"We're curious whether you know that we made cover offers for you before American Idol was even halfway through its run. Apparently, Out was too gay, even for you. There was the issue of what it would do to your record sales, we were told. Imagine! A gay musician on the cover of a gay magazine. What might the parents think! It's only because this cover is a group shot that includes a straight woman that your team would allow you to be photographed at all--albeit with the caveat that we must avoid making you look 'too gay.' (Is that a medical term? Just curious). Luckily, you seemed unaware that a similar caution was issued to our interviewer."

Wow. Hicklin continues, criticizing Lambert's recent appearance on the cover of Details magazine, an issue in which Lambert said he likes to kiss women. Hicklin says that for Lambert's career, it's "Much easier to stick you in Details, where your homosexuality can be neutralized by having you...saying, 'Women are pretty.' So are kittens, Adam, but it doesn't mean you have to make out with them."

Hicklin says he's not beating up on Adam Lambert: "You're a pioneer, an out gay pop idol at the start of his career." But, he reminds Lambert, there are responsibilities that come with his position as one of the first out celebrities. "Someone has to be first, and we're all counting on you not to mess this up. You have to find your own path and then others can follow. We just hope it's a path that's honest and true and that you choose to surround yourself with people who celebrate your individuality."

Check out the risque Details backstory that's creating Adam Lambert controversy.