Unlike Adam Lambert, American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi doesn't believe "FCC heat" is behind ABC's decision to cancel the ninth-season Idol runner-up's upcoming appearances on the network following his controversial American Music Awards performance. Instead, she feels the network's advertisers are responsible.
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"We're living in a pretty bad economic time, so they have to do what they have to do to keep their advertisers," DioGuardi told E! News in a Thursday report.
"Networks are doing what they think their viewers want and don't want, so it's just budgetary."
The American Idol eighth-season runner-up was scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live's December 17 broadcast also tentatively scheduled for New Year's Rockin' Eve (ABC hasn't formally announced the New Year's Eve special's performance lineup yet). However both appearances were canceled as part of the still-ongoing fallout from his S&M-themed performance of his "For Your Entertainment" debut single at the end of ABC's live AMA broadcast on November 22.
Lambert announced the cancellations on Wednesday -- one week after he ended up performing on CBS' The Early Show after ABC decided to cancel a November 25 appearance on Good Morning America due to his AMA performance.
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During his AMA performance, Lambert held a leash attached to a male dancer wearing bondage gear and used it to pull the dancer towards him. Lambert then grabbed the back of the dancer's head and shoved the dancer's face in his crotch, simulating a sexual act and causing ABC to cut to an overhead shot of the studio audience during the live East Coast broadcast.
Lambert also fondled a female dancer's crotch, made-out with a male keyboardist, grabbed his own crotch and gestured his middle finger at the audience during the performance.
"We always know he's going to shock us, right?" DioGuardi told E! News. "He's going to wow us and give us the unexpected, and that's his thing... That's what we look for."
Lambert's debut album -- also called "For Your Entertainment" -- debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 U.S. album sales chart this week after selling 198,000 copies during its initial week of release.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio