The Rolling Stone Blog

Adam Levine Accuses ‘American Idol’ of Homophobia

By | The Rolling Stone Blog – Tue, Aug 16, 2011 11:09 AM EDT

The Voice judge and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has fired shots at American Idol, claiming that the massively popular show has gone out of its way to obscure the sexuality of its contestants. "What's always pissed me off about Idol is wanting to mask that, for that to go unspoken," Levine told Out. "You can't be publicly gay? At this point? On a singing competition? Give me a break. You can't hide basic components of these people's lives."

"The fact that The Voice didn't have any qualms about being completely open about it is a great thing," he says. Though he's proud of his show's massive success, he admits that Idol is a "cultural institution." "On The Voice, we just care about a different list of things," he says. "It's for a different type of person, I guess."

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