‘The Voice’s’ Adam Leve Slams ‘Amerin Idol’ for Its Treatment of Gay Performers – The Hollywood Reporter

Contents:

• 'THE VOICE' HAS OPENLY GAY SGERS: WHERE ARE THEY ON 'AMERIN IDOL'?
•  THE VOICE SEASON 21 BLD DNS ROUND THREE BUBBA GAY SGER ARIANA GRA JOHN LEGEND TEAM BLAKE
• THE GAY VOICE
• WHAT'S THE LK BETWEEN HOMOSEXUALY AND HAVG A 'GAY VOICE'
• IS THERE A “GAY VOICE”?
• WHAT MEANS TO ‘SOUND GAY’
• WHO IS RYLEIGH MODIG? HERE'S WHY 'THE VOICE' FANS LOVE 18-YEAR-OLD SGER'S 'KELLY I'M GAY' STATEMENT
• MY GAY VOICE AND YOURS
• GAY VOICE
• MY GAY VOICE
• FILMMAKER AND SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WEIGH IN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO 'SOUND GAY'
• ‘THE VOICE’S’ ADAM LEVE SLAMS ‘AMERIN IDOL’ FOR ITS TREATMENT OF GAY PERFORMERS

'THE VOICE' HAS OPENLY GAY SGERS: WHERE ARE THEY ON 'AMERIN IDOL'?

"When I was younger I thought I was straight, bee I was more attracted to women, and I didn't know there were more optns bis Gay and Straight, " The Voice season 8 wner shared.

 THE VOICE SEASON 21 BLD DNS ROUND THREE BUBBA GAY SGER ARIANA GRA JOHN LEGEND TEAM BLAKE

THE VOICE -- "Bld Audns" Episo 2303 -- Pictured: (l-r) Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Chance The Rapper, Niall Horan -- (Photo by: Evans Vtal Ward/NBC) NBC’s The Voice has only aired two episos, but already viewers have heard somethg that viewers have probably never heard on Fox’s Amerin Idol: “I’m gay.

While there have been gay Idol nttants, most famoly Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, they’ve eher publicly acknowledged their sexual orientatn after their rpective seasons nclud, or that aspect of their inty was ignored on the show self. In fact, out of hundreds of nttants that have appeared on TV’s biggt seri over 10 years, openly gay portrayals are eher nonexistent (nobody ntacted for this story uld remember one), or at bt, extremely rare, let alone numbers like The Voice has picted s first two weeks.

THE GAY VOICE

This isn’t to suggt Idol and/or Fox is secretly enforcg a closeted agenda — producers hired the openly gay Ellen DeGener as a judge and Fox airs Glee, perhaps the most gay-iendly drama on broadst.

When craftg The Voice, executive producer Mark Burt said the choice to prent sgers’ sexual orientatn was discsed, and said he was surprised havg openly gay sgers wasn’t already faiar terrory on Idol. “It didn’t cross my md to do anythg but be thentic, ” said Burt, whose first season of CBS’ Survivor was not only groundbreakg realy TV, but also featured an openly gay nttant, Richard Hatch, who won the petn.

WHAT'S THE LK BETWEEN HOMOSEXUALY AND HAVG A 'GAY VOICE'

” It uld simply be a difference of productn style: That producers on Idol, as Fox’s statement suggts, don’t thk sexual orientatn is relevant to a sgg petn and so they don’t really see a reason to go there wh nttants (“I don’t re if a sger is gay!

(Lambert, who like several Idol nttants was wily prumed gay durg the ntt, said after he me out, “I wanted the foc to be on my abily as a sger and as an entertaer — not on my private life.

IS THERE A “GAY VOICE”?

Ironilly, after prentg four openly gay nttants across two episos, the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn nounced The Voice bee ach Blake Shelton tweeted what some terpreted as a homophobic song lyric. ) Asked about this matter, GLAAD Print Jarrett Barrs told EW: “Wh more and more Amerins embracg openly gay sgers like Adam Lambert, Idol voters would clearly support a talented openly gay nttant if given the chance today. If Amerin Idol expects to ntue leadg the ratgs, Idol producers should regnize that posive gay cln on televisn not only fosters acceptance but, as evinced by the populary of shows like The Voice and Glee, is a smart programmg move.

Here’s a clip of Tyler Robson, one of the openly gay The Voice nttants om last week: Episo Reps THE VOICE -- "Bld Audns" Episo 2303 -- Pictured: Niall Horan -- (Photo by: Evans Vtal Ward/NBC) S23 E3 Rep The Voice nttant lands on Niall Horan's team thanks to a Harry Styl song By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Fale, Part 2” Episo 2220B -- Pictured: (l-r) John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Caa Cabello, Blake Shelton -- (Photo by: Nile Wegart/NBC) S22 E25 Rep The Voice fale rep: A new wner is crowned By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- Live Fale, Part 1 Episo 2220A -- Pictured: Omar Jose Cardona -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E24 Rep The Voice rep: The top five sg for the w By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- Live Semi-Fal Top 8 Elimatns Episo 2219B -- Pictured: John Legend -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E23 Rep The Voice rep: Meet your season 22 falists By Maggie Fremont Blake Shelton, John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and Caa Cabello on 'The Voice' S22 E22 Rep The Voice rep: The Top 8 pair up for Whney Hoton duets the semifals By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Top 10 Elimatns” Episo 2218AB -- Pictured: (l-r) Omar Jose Cardona, Kim Cise, John Legend, Parija Bastola -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E21 Rep The Voice rep: A Team Legend sger ws the Instant Save Round to make the Top 8 By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Top 10 Performanc” Episo 2218A -- Pictured: (l-r) John Legend, Gwen Stefani -- (Photo by: Casey Durk/NBC) S22 E20 Rep The Voice rep: Live top 10 performanc By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Top 13 Elimatns” Episo 2217B -- Pictured: (l-r) Bodie, Bryce Leatherwood, Rowan Grace, Brayn Lapen, Man Myl, Devix, Eric Who, Alyssa Wrado, Jt Aaron, Kique, Kim Cse, Omar Jose Cardona, Parija Bastola -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E19 Rep The Voice rep: Live Top 13 elimatns By Maggie Fremont The Voice S22 E18 Rep The Voice rep: Watch the top 13 perform songs that 'changed their liv' By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Top 16 Performanc” Episo 2216B -- Pictured: (l-r) John Legend, Gwen Stefani -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E17 Rep The Voice rep: The ach face a tough cisn to reach the top 13 By Maggie Fremont The Voice -- “Live Top 16 Performanc” Episo 2216A -- Pictured: Katie Kalvach -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E16 Rep The Voice rep: The top 16 go live for the first time By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- "Knockout Rounds" Episo 2214 -- Pictured: John Legend -- (Photo by: Tyler Goln/NBC) S22 E14 Rep The Voice rep: John Legend and Caa Cabello battle for a top Team Blake artist By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- "The Knockouts Premiere" Episo 2213 -- Pictured: (l-r) Gwen Stefani, Caa Cabello, John Legend, Blake Shelton -- (Photo by: Tyler Goln/NBC) S22 E13 Rep The Voice rep: Wele to the season of 3-way knockouts By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE S22 E12 Rep The Voice rep: The Battl e to a close By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- "The Battl Part 2" Episo 2209 -- Pictured: John Legend -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E10 Rep The Voice rep: John Legend has to e his 'save' tonight's battle By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- "Battle Rounds" Episo 2208 -- Pictured: (l-r) Caa Cabello, Blake Shelton -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) S22 E9 Rep The Voice rep: Blake Shelton steals one of Gwen Stefani's would-be sav By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- "The Bld Audns, Part 7" Episo 2207 -- Pictured: Steven McMorran -- (Photo by: Ta Thorpe/NBC)THE VOICE -- "Bld Audns" Episo TBD -- Pictured: Man Myl -- (Photo by: Ta Thorpe/NBC) S22 E8 Rep The Voice rep: The Battl are on — and one ach don't hate to e their 'save' By Maggie Fremont Gwen Stefani, Caa Cabello, and Blake Shelton on 'The Voice' S22 E6 Rep The Voice rep: The ach get picky as the Blds beg to wd down By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- “The Bld Audns Season Premiere” Episo 2201 -- Pictured: Gwen Stefani -- (Photo by: Tyler Goln/NBC) S22 E5 Rep The Voice rep: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani put their marriage to the tt as bld dns ntue By Maggie Fremont THE VOICE -- “The Bld Audns, Part 3” Episo 2203 -- Pictured: John Legend -- (Photo by: Tyler Goln/NBC) S22 E4 Rep The Voice rep: Did John Legend jt pick up a rger for the fals?

WHAT MEANS TO ‘SOUND GAY’

After intifyg phoic characteristics that seem to make a man’s voice sound gay, their bt hunch is that some gay men may subnscly adopt certa female speech patterns.

WHO IS RYLEIGH MODIG? HERE'S WHY 'THE VOICE' FANS LOVE 18-YEAR-OLD SGER'S 'KELLY I'M GAY' STATEMENT

Stay ahead of the trend fashn and beyond wh our ee weekly Liftyle Ed newsletterStay ahead of the trend fashn and beyond wh our ee weekly Liftyle Ed newsletter After a particularly bad break-up, David Thorpe, a journalist who’s his forti, cid to take his md off thgs by leavg his ts his Manhattan apartment and drowng his sorrows at a gay beach town on Fire Island.

”It was the start of a four-year journey of self-disvery durg which Thorpe tried to figure out his so-lled “gay voice”: when did he start talkg that way, what ed , how exactly did sound, and, fally, what was so wrong wh anyway? The rults n be seen his new documentary, Do I Sound Gay?, which featur terviews wh lguists, amics, fay and iends, as well as a number of high-profile personali, cludg David Sedaris and Dan Savage. Another expert that he terviews for the film is a Canadian lguist who studi vol microvariatns between gay and straight men and speculat that many gay men more readily pick up speech s om women.

MY GAY VOICE AND YOURS

Intertgly, a straight iend of Thorpe’s has what is nsired to be an archetypal “gay voice” and turns that out he was raised entirely by women at an ashram. When he was younger, Thorpe not, the only “gay voic” on televisn were those belongg to figur such as Liberace and Charl Nelson Reilly, the host of The Match Game.

GAY VOICE

He also wonrs if Disney villas such as Aladd’s Jafar and The Ln Kg’s Sr, wh their soft, threateng voic, have ma young people associate soundg gay wh beg evil. “Growg up, I was always told that what was wrong wh me was that I was gay, so ’s not hard to unrstand that a moment of vulnerabily I might also feel secure about my sexualy.

Not long after Thorpe broke up wh his boyiend, he began thkg about the way he speaks, and the way other gay men speak, and why both sudnly bothered him so much. Gay adolcents, Thorpe pots out, often learn that the “tell” of their sexualy is their voic, even more so than physily—a limp wrist is easier to straighten out than an flectn.

Thorpe talks to a straight iend who sounds “gay” (he grew up on an ashram, surround by women), and a gay iend who sounds “straight” (he has jock brothers). “For many gay men, that’s the last vtige, that’s the last chunk of ternalized homophobia, is this hatred of how they sound, ” Dan Savage tells Thorpe.

MY GAY VOICE

As gays and lbians ga cultural pal, helped along by equaly victori like the one jt hand down by the Supreme Court, “gay voice” will surely evolve, too.

FILMMAKER AND SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WEIGH IN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO 'SOUND GAY'

It rais a plited discsn about gay pri, lgerg homophobia, disguised misogyny, and the extent to which we all alter the image that we prent to the the film begs, Thorpe is disturbed bee he realiz he don’t like his voice any more. He rri out thoughtful nversatns wh his iends and proment gay and lbian figur – cludg Gee Takei, David Sedaris, Dan Savage, Margaret Cho and Don Lemon – about what means to “sound gay. But so dog, v everyone to thk about what their own voice says about who they are, where they me om, and where they want to science of “the gay voice”To start wh, the stereotypil “gay voice” isn’t necsarily a study published 2003, Ron Smyth, a lguist at the Universy of Toronto, found that participants readily separated rerdgs of 25 diverse voic to those who “sound gay” and those who “sound straight.

In Smyth's study, people rrectly gused a man’s sexualy about 60 percent of the time, only a ltle better than another small study at the Universy of Hawaii, both gay and straight listeners were equally as likely to misclassify people as gay or straight. In fact, the straight men wh so-lled gay voic weren't aware that people thought they sound gay at turns out that what most people perceive as a stereotypil "gay voice" is jt a male voice that sounds more stereotypilly feme -- maly, higher pched and more melod. And that often has more to do wh the voic that a person intified wh as they grew up, rather than and other rearchers say some men, both gay and straight, velop more feme voic bee they are fluenced by women when they are young.

‘THE VOICE’S’ ADAM LEVE SLAMS ‘AMERIN IDOL’ FOR ITS TREATMENT OF GAY PERFORMERS

If you've ever found yourself talkg to someone wh a different accent and gradually emulatg them, you're faiar wh the gay men, adoptg what's lled "mp" -- a theatril gay accent, like an old-school starlet -- n be a way of embracg their inty.