Adam Lambert Recalls Pessimism about 'American Idol' - Gay Contestants were 'Not Taken Seriously'

In a recent interview, "American Idol" star Adam Lambert recalled his pessimism about being on the popular reality competition show because LGBTQ+ contestants were "not taken seriously."

Just Jared reported that Lambert, speaking with LGBTQ+ culture site "them," wasn't in the closet when he went on the show.

"I had been out since I was 18," the singer recalled, going on to add, "It was never a secret after I came out. I wasn't ashamed of it at all, but I was really settled in my gayness."

Lambert said he had had his doubts about whether he could compete on "American Idol."

"I never thought that it was a show that I'd be able to do," the singer recounted, listing his reasons as, "I'm a theater kid. Also, I'm gay, which never seemed to really land very well in that show. I mean, there definitely were a few, but they all kind of got not taken seriously."

Even so, Lambert auditioned for and secured a place on the show's eighth season, in 2009, and seemed for a time destined to win it. But then a photo emerged that showed him kissing a former boyfriend at Burning Man – a photo that right-wing outlets seized upon, including Bill O'Reilly, who was at the time a personality with Fox News. The Fox network aired the competition show.

Lambert didn't make any apologies for who he was.

"I just said to a reporter, I'm like, 'Yeah. That's me,'" the singer recounted. "That's all I said."

In the end, Lambert lost the contest to Kris Allen, who declared, "Adam deserved this."

Lambert has gone on to enjoy a highly successful career, touring with Queen and releasing five solo albums, the most recent of them being last year's "High Drama."