Everything you need to know about Adam Lambert’s new queer music documentary: Out, Loud & Proud
Adam Lambert performs at the Royal Albert Hall on June 05, 2023 in London, England. (Getty)
New ITV documentary Adam Lambert: Out, Loud & Proud will explore how British LGBTQ+ musicians have fought for space in the industry.
In the documentary, airing on ITV1 tonight (19 June) as part of Pride month, the US star will chat with his friends and Queen bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor about how LGBTQ+ acts and stars – including Freddie Mercury – paved the way for queer representation in music.
Mercury, who was recently crowned the UK’s number-one queer icon of all time, died from an Aids-related illness in 1991, at the age of 45.
In 2011, American Idol runner-up Lambert joined the remaining members of Queen for a performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards, before officially becoming the band’s lead singer.
He will also chat to MNEK and Erasure’s Andy Bell about Britain’s LGBTQ+ music history, in the documentary.
In addition, he’ll spend time with Pose star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez – who made history in 2021 by becoming the first trans actress to bag an Emmy – looking at whether progress for LGBTQ+ people is slowing down, and how the anti-gay narratives that targeted the community in decades gone by are now being levied against trans people.
Speaking to ITV ahead of the documentary’s release, the High Drama singer compared his coming out as gay experience in 2009 to that of fellow gay reality TV star Will Young.
“Being an artist from a TV competition show, then coming out. I was the first to do it on American Idol. But the UK had Will Young maybe 10 years [before], so we’re offset by like a decade,” he said.
“It’s fun for me to look at this through a UK lens.
“[When I think about iconic queer musicians, the first ones that come to mind are almost all UK artists: Elton, Freddie, Bowie, Boy George. Those were my touchstones and that felt like a really exciting place to dig into.
“This is a look back at 40 to 50 years of pop culture, particularly the musicians who have trail-blazed. It’s a closer look at a journey, and [if you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community], it’s a lovely way to be proud of all that we are and where we’ve come from.
“It’s fascinating, inspiring and, I think, hopeful.”
Lambert experienced intense homophobia at the start of his career and has previously claimed that he was threatened with a lawsuit for kissing a male member of his band on stage at the 2009 American Music Awards.
Adam Lambert’s boyfriend, Oliver Gliese
Adam Lambert and his boyfriend Oliver Gliese first got together in February 2021.
Oliver Gliese works as the Innovation Forum Assistant for Global Fashion Agenda. He is from Denmark and he’s the Partnerships Manager of the Global Fashion Agenda Team.
In August 2023, Lambert shared an Instagram story defending his boyfriend from homophobic attacks on social media. These attacks followed the release of paparazzi photos of the couple enjoying a night out in West Hollywood circulated online.
Adam Lambert: Out, Loud & Proud will air on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesday (19 June)
