With the announcement that Adam Lambert would be the man headlining the Countdown 2016 New Year's Eve concert in Singapore, outrage was sparked in the homophobic community, with a petition demanding for the singer to be dropped being signed by 20,065 people at time of writing.
The people against the performance urged organisers MediaCorp to rethink their decision, arguing that Adam is "hardly the kind of performer to send off our historic Jubilee year".
They continued: "Singaporeans can enjoy a good show with their consciences being affronted by lewd acts in the name of entertainment.
"In addition, a simple online search would reveal that he is well-known for his active promotion of a highly sexualised lifestyle and LGTBT rights, of which are contrary to mainstream Singaporean values."
In Singapore, homosexuality is currently illegal, and back in May the government in the country banned a song and music video by a popular K-Pop artist because it portrayed same-sex marriage and homosexual themes.
Despite the laws, nearly 28,000 attended an annual LGBT rights rally in Singapore earlier this year called Pink Dot.
Adam responded to the backlash on Facebook on Friday, November 27, confirming that he'll still be taking to the stage and will give a "thoughtful and sophisticated" performance with "insight into the pursuit of happiness and self-worth".
Now closed, those who organised the petition wrote: "This petition was meant to appeal to the better judgment of the Organisers to reconsider their choice of foreign performers in Countdown 2016, on the basis of inclusion of the young and the often cited silent majority in Singapore who continue to uphold values that appear contrary to the liberal west.
"It is never 'just entertainment', especially when the national stage is used. Unfortunately, our concerns to address the probability of lewd acts on a public platform have been downplayed and turned into yet another political LGBT rights issue."
Fans of Adam made a counter petition, now also closed, which it's worth noting garnered 24,742 signatures - thousands more than those against his performance.
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