'American Idol' and Dumbing Down the Definition of Homophobe

Over at Huffington Post, Jim David is positive Adam Lambert’s “American Idol” loss was due to widespread homophobia in America. He pins this charge squarely on the fact that, in his opinion, Lambert is the better singer and therefore should’ve beaten Kris Allen, but didn’t because of…

Yes, homophobia is alive and well, which is why Lambert lost the ultimate title. Go ahead — give me another reason.

What’s so amusing about David’s challenge is that he gives all the reason you could ever want in his very next sentence:

Yes, Lambert is over the top and screams a lot and is campier than Liberace at Radio City.

Let’s brush aside the fact that taste is relative when it comes to who has a better voice or who’s a better performer and remember that the show isn’t called “Best American Singer,” it’s called “American Idol,” and being an idol involves more than voice and performance. How about poise, which by David’s own description Lambert seems to lack?

A big part of which American “idols” we Americans choose to emotionally invest ourselves in, or spend our entertainment dollars on, has to do with being able to identify with that person – and most of us simply can’t identify with someone who’s “over the top … screams a lot and … campier than Liberace at Radio City,” regardless of their sexuality.

And talk about dumbing down the definition of “homophobia.”

I’ve seen Tom Petty in concert seven times — Elton John, zero. But now, according to The Jim David Standard, this makes me a homophobe because I voted with my dollars for the straight guy with the nasal twang and not the gay man with the better voice. (Though I am an Elton John fan and an even bigger Liberace fan.)

I guess this means that those of you who choose Willie Nelson over K.D. Lang qualify as outright gay bashers.

The irony is double thick. First off, labeling a huge swath of America homophobic based on utter nonsense is in and of itself pure bigotry, but we patriots owe Jim David a hearty thanks. After all, what a wonderful thing it says about the tolerance of America that someone so concerned with homophobia is reduced to wasting 1200 words on this.