Adam Lambert honours George Michael with VMAs tribute performance

Adam Lambert says George Michael turned a forced coming out into a masterclass in owning your truth

Adam Lambert didn't just perform a tribute to George Michael at the VMAs on Sunday, September 27, he also opened up about how the late icon shaped him long before that stage moment. 

On the red carpet, Lambert, 44, named Michael and Michael Jackson as the two artists he idolised growing up. "The stuff that George did with his voice, I mean, he was such a good singer, and a great writer and a great producer," he told People.

But it wasn't just the music. Lambert says the real "cherry on top" was watching Michael refuse to shrink after being outed. In 1998, Michael was arrested for a "lewd act" in a Beverly Hills park and, shortly after, found himself opening up to CNN about his homosexuality— not on his own terms, but because the world forced his hand. 

"I thought he did it with such grace and confidence and didn't apologize and he owned it," Lambert recalled. "He stood up for himself and he called out the media and everybody else."

Michael's own words at the time still carry weight. "I don't feel any shame. I feel stupid and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way. But I don't feel any shame whatsoever."

That defiance is exactly what stuck with Lambert. "I look back on that very often with pride," he said. "I think it's really, really beautiful that he handled it that way."

The VMAs tribute brought Michael's catalog to life through Sombr with performances on Faith, and Father Figure, RAYE with I Knew You Were Waiting, and Teddy Swims Careless Whisper, before Lambert closed it out with a full-cast Freedom! '90. 

It landed a decade after Michael's death and 40 years after Faith redefined his career — with a concert film and live album both dropping before year's end.