ABC/Ida Mae AstuteAdam Lambert is speaking out in Sam Smith’s defense after the former American Idol star posted a video of Sam saying he didn’t like Michael Jackson.
The video, which Adam has since removed from Instagram, caused immediate backlash for Sam online. The clip featured Sam and Adam on a boat with some friends in California. Sam can be heard saying, “I don’t like Michael Jackson, but [‘Human Nature’] is a good song.”
Adam tells People that Sam’s comment was taken out of context and that he didn’t listen to the video before he posted it.
“We had been out at sea all day! We had had some champagne!” he explains. “I got home, and I was like, ‘I wanna post a picture of my new Gucci sunglasses!’ So I had my phone on mute because I wasn’t thinking. And I was looking through video, and I see a cute one of me in the sunglasses, and ‘Oh, there’s Sam, okay I’ll post it!’ I did not listen to the video.”
When he finally heard it, he realized Sam’s comment did not sound right out of context, so he took it down. But it was already too late.
“The poor guy — now people are jumpin’ all over him!” he says. “And it’s like, look: The guy is entitled to his opinion. And also: It was a sliver of a fuller conversation that was actually quite interesting. I think people need to give him a break.”
Adam says he apologized to Sam for posting the video, but Sam took it all in stride.
“He’s so cool and down to earth, like, ‘It’s not a big deal, whatever!’” Adam says. “Hats off to him. He’s not bothered.”
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