The backlash was understandable, AI judge believes

Dec 7, 2009 16:12 GMT  ·  By

Although he confirmed his position as a bona fide rock ‘n’ roll star and entertainer, Adam Lambert stood to lose from his performance at the 2009 American Music Awards. For one, ABC canceled several of his appearances in the aftermath, which some rushed to call a homophobic stance against one of the most popular male singers of the day, and Kara DioGuardi, American Idol judge, sees as a purely financial matter.

Speaking with E! Online, DioGuardi, who constantly supported and encouraged Lambert when he was still a contestant on the eighth season of the popular televised singing competition, says that she can understand the backlash. Of course, understanding it and condoning it are two different things and Kara doesn’t do the latter, only the former. It’s the economy, she says, which is forcing networks to do only what audiences ask of them.

“We’re living in a pretty bad economic time, so they have to do what they have to do to keep their advertisers. Networks are doing what they think their viewers want and don’t want, so it’s just budgetary.” DioGuardi explains for E!. Again, speaking strictly of how she feels about the whole controversy, she says she saw nothing wrong with Lambert’s AMAs performance and does not believe it alone should be the reason for such a severe backlash.

“We always know he’s going to shock us, right?” the AI judge says, knowing too well the kind of fire that goes into Adam’s performances after watching him evolve on the aforementioned show. With this in mind, it’s wrong to have him over because how he is as a performer and then lash out at him precisely because he did what he always does. “He’s going to wow us and give us the unexpected, and that’s his thing... That’s what we look for.” DioGuardi further explains.

As for the much-mediated backlash, we were telling you over the weekend that it seemed to have come at an end, with ABC making the first step towards burying the hatchet. For more clarity, Adam Lambert has been invited to perform and do an interview with the ladies on The View on December 10, an appearance he also confirmed on his Twitter page, so keep your eyes glued to the TV sets for it.