Is America Ready for a Gay Idol?

Photo used under a Creative Commons license by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/twilighter_team_edward_4_life/">;;xXTeam EdwardXx;; ??Adam Lambert Lover!?</a>

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In the world of reality TV, the buzziest personality is undoubtedly American Idol contestant Adam Lambert. But it’s not his copious eyeliner, gothic black nail polish, or theatrical wails that have generated the most controversy—it’s his sexuality. The media’s biggest question about the man-kissing drag-performer: Should the singer come out on Idol?

The San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Examiner: “I want Lambert to announce his gayness and still win this year’s competition. Is that too much to ask?”

The Huffington Post: “An out Idol contestant would win lot of gay hearts but might lose votes.”

The Associated Content: “The purpose of the show is to be entertaining, not ideological.”

The Advocate:
“He’s not officially ‘out,’ but that’s not the point. If something as
formerly monumental as a public person’s gayness can suddenly be seen
as post-mattering, then that’s what really matters now.”

Will viewers of family-friendly Idol continue to vote for a gifted
performer they know is gay, regardless of their Prop. 8 voting and
Milk-watching preferences? As the country speed-dials its way into the weeks ahead, we’ll soon find out.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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