Inside Adam Lambert's Relationship With Simon Cowell

Adam Lambert and Simon Cowell's relationship has sometimes been... iffy. In a June 2018 interview with NME, Lambert said he felt mistreated by Simon on Idol because of his identity. And he wasn't the only one. "Up until my season, anytime someone came on the show that was perceived to be gay or it was obvious enough that they were gay, they were a joke; They were made fun of," Lambert said. "Simon would make fun of them."

Lambert singled out another singer: Danny Noriega, who competed in the seventh season and placed in the semi-finals. During the show, Cowell called one of Noriega's performances "grotesque." The criticism reduced Noriega to tears at the time, but the performer kept singing, becoming famous drag queen Adore Delano, who, as of this writing, has over 2.1 million Instagram followers. 

Since then, times have changed and Lambert and Cowell are on better terms. "I did the finale the year before last, and it was the first time I had seen him in 10 years. He was sweet. He said, 'Good to see you — good job,'" Lambert told NME, adding, "He sort of wised up on that angle and he realized quickly that is not acceptable anymore." Lambert's somewhat direct criticism of Cowell, however, was a bit of a left turn from his remarks in the past.  

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