During an interview on NPR's quiz show
Ask Me Another, out singer-songwriter Adam Lambert talked
about coming out publicly after appearing on American Idol.
The 36-year-old Lambert rose to fame
after appearing on the eighth season of Fox's singing competition
show American Idol,
where he came in runner-up to Kris Allen.
Speculation about Lambert's sexuality,
fueled in part by photos of him kissing a man, swirled during the
competition. He publicly announced in a Rolling Stone cover
story that he's gay.
“Did you feel a lot of pressure at
the time to be the new gay poster boy?” host Ophira Eisenberg
asked.
“It was so strange to me, because I
came out to my family and all my friends when I was 18...[they were]
really supportive and I was in an industry that supported it,”
Lambert said. “To me at the time, I was looking at it from my
point of view. I didn't have the knowledge or experience yet to
really see it as the public looking at me.”
Lambert acknowledged that he was “mixed
with total intimidation and fear” about coming out.
“We were like, 'Let's do this the
right way. Let's save it for a publication that we know will cover
this the right way, fairly and in a very liberal light.' [Rolling
Stone] totally got me,” he
added.
(Related: Cher
moved to tears by Adam Lambert's powerful cover of “Believe.”)
During his appearance, Lambert answered
trivia questions about other Rolling Stone cover stars from
2009.