Worlds collided on Thursday, September 10, when American Idol season 8 runner-up and rock star, Adam Lambert hosted an IGTV chat with political rock star and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. The purpose of the chat was to talk about the upcoming election.
Lambert started the video patiently waiting on Buttigieg to join by playing a little bit of George Michael’s “Fastlove” while dancing along. When the former mayor joined, he and Lambert shared what they have been doing and Buttigieg revealed he was teaching at Notre Dame.
Lambert explained about his excitement to meet Buttigieg:
“I have to say, seeing your campaign, it was such a success and seeing a gay man run for president, I mean, that’s a first for all of us in the community and I was so inspired. And I love how you carry yourself and how we got to meet your husband (Chasten). It’s been a very inspiring thing to watch.”
As Lambert asked what issues are personally important to the former mayor, Buttigieg responded:
“Well, you know, there’s so many. All politics are personal, right? Certainly, the LGBTQ community. I mean, our rights are on the ballot. You know somebody whose marriage exists thanks to a margin of one vote on the U.S. Supreme Court. The next president is going to be making lifetime appointments to the court. Think about healthcare. Matter of fact, the ACA (Affordable Care Act) is how we got healthcare… My mother-in-law, she has pre-existing conditions. If something were to happen to the Affordable Care Act, which the Trump administration right now is in court trying to get rid of, if they get their way, I don’t know how she would able to get healthcare. These are incredibly personal and immediate issues for us and then you add to that, everything that is going on with the pandemic. The fact that we now know that the President knew how bad it was and told Americans something different. That’s why we’re falling behind with the rest of the developed world. We have the worst death levels in the developed world. This is as life or death as it gets, and it is personal.”
Lambert and Buttigieg also discussed the ban on transgender soldiers in the military as well as voter turnout in the LGBTQ community and what’s at stake. Buttigieg said:
“If every LGBTQ voter votes and every pro-equality voter votes, that is an unstoppable force. I think the biggest thing that people need to think about is the power that is in their hands. I’m having one kind of conversation with a lot of folks that maybe used to vote Republican but they’re ready to change their mind because they’re just horrified by this president. There’s a lot of others who are deciding whether to vote and that’s who I really want to connect with, with the message that this is your moment of maximum power. And again, if you’re part of this community, first of all, people gave up so much so we could have the rights that we have to just have a shot at equality. And we know we’re not there yet.”
Lambert and Buttigieg discussed a number of topics including the Black Lives Matter movement and the Biden-Harris Ticket. Lambert also inquired about voting safely on Election Day considering the pandemic. Buttigieg spoke about the need for poll workers on Election Day.
You can watch the whole conversation between Adam Lambert and Pete Buttigieg below and let us know what you think of the Lambert/ Buttigieg conversation in the comments below or on our social media accounts.
Source: Adam Lambert Official Instagram Account
