EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Rabbi Defends Adam Lambert
Nov. 24 2009, Published 7:33 a.m. ET
A Rabbi has defended controversial rocker Adam Lambert as the backlash from his raunchy American Music Awards performance continues to spiral.
ABC pulled the plug on Lambert’s scheduled Good Morning America appearance after he kissed another man on stage while simulating an oral sex act during his dance routine.
But Rabbi David Baron – who booked Lambert to sing at the Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre – before he went on to find fame on American Idol hopes that people don’t judge the Jewish performer too harshly.
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Rabbi Baron told RadarOnline.com: “People should not be too quick to judge Adam Lambert because often a performer’s stage persona is often just that.
“What is most important is the way they conduct themselves away from the spotlight and that they show compassion to others and are decent human beings.
“And all my communications with Adam would suggest that he is a thoroughly decent and level headed person.
“Obviously, fame can change people and they can go through a transformation but I think he is very open-hearted while being totally professional too.
“Look at performers like Madonna – she is a very spiritual person - but if she was viewed just by her racy performances alone then that would offer a really skewed perspective of her.
“I mean she kissed Britney Spears on stage and then there was Janet Jackson’s famous wardrobe mal-function. So, this type of thing is nothing new.
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“I think Adam Lambert is a very decent and stand-up guy and I hope that people don’t judge him too harshly because of this performance.”
In 2007, Lambert performed at the Kol Nidre service at Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre, where he sang the duet The Prayer with Cantor Illysia Pierce.
And he also joined Temple of the Arts to perform at a memorial concert for Yitzhak Rabin, where he sang Shir LeShalom at American Jewish University.
Rabbi Baron added: “He put on a beautiful performance each time and his voice really moved people - everyone knew that he had a special talent.”
Despite of the fall-out from his performance at the AMA’s Lambert has refused to apologize for his outrageous performance claiming “I’m not a babysitter, I’m a performer.”