ABC Lifts Ban on Adam Lambert

Although never officially acknowledged, the ABC ban on American Idol singer Adam Lambert has been lifted, with the network extending to him an invitation for an episode on The View, TMZ has learned. The move follows a couple of weeks of scrutiny and criticism for ABC, which has repeatedly cancelled appearances from the singer after his “controversial” live show at the 2009 American Music Awards.

Initially, it was just a Good Morning America scheduled appearance that was canceled, with ABC saying Lambert was too unpredictable a performer, as he more than proved at the AMAs, to have him sing live so early in the morning. Amidst booing and accusations from fans, CBS stepped in and booked Adam for a gig. ABC then went forward and reinforced regulations on performers, only to cancel later two more appearances from Adam, on Jimmy Kimmel and New Year’s Rocking Eve.

Again, fans were not happy and they more than made that heard with ABC, which seems to have prompted the change of heart, TMZ speculates. “ABC has lifted the ban on Adam Lambert – and officially booked him to perform on an upcoming episode of The View... in the hopes that he sticks to the script this time. ABC had previously dropped Lambert from two of the network’s shows, in response to catching the network ‘off-guard’ when he improvised his act at the American Music Awards […]. But after taking sharp criticism for their decision, ABC is extending the olive branch – with an invitation to perform on a December 10 episode of The View.” TMZ writes.

As we also informed you the other day, ABC canceled two more of Lambert’s appearances without as much as mentioning a clear reason for it, while claiming to impose stricter rules on live performers not as a means to limit their creativity, but to safeguard they don’t stray from what they do in rehearsals. Adam, on his part, kept his cool throughout the entire controversy, saying only that he wished things had turned out differently and apologizing to the fans who felt disappointed in him – but not for the performance that started it all.

“Yes, sadly friends, ABC has canceled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. :( don’t blame them. It’s the FCC heat ... I AM doing Leno though. And lookin into something for NYE ... It’ll all blow over. Let’s focus on being positive! :),” Adam tweeted after the recent cancelations.