Lambert spilled the news in the latest issue of
Rolling Stone.
"I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," he says.
"I'm proud of my sexuality," continues the rocker, who was snapped holding hands with boyfriend Drake LaBry earlier this month.
"I embrace it. It's just another part of me."
Why didn’t he talk about while he was on American Idol? Simple: contestants are under a media embargo, and he wanted to do it on his own terms -- preferable to judge Kara DioGuardi spewing to media on his personal biz.
"I was worried that (coming out) would be so sensationalized that it would overshadow what I was there to do, which was sing," Lambert explains. "I'm an entertainer, and who I am and what I do in
my personal life is a separate thing. It shouldn't matter. Except it does. It's really confusing."
The issue features two American Idol also-rans on its cover -- a photo of Lambert with a snake crawling up his leg, and a blurb about a story on Chris Daughtry, featured inside.
Winner Kris Allen is gearing up for his fall album release and the American Idol 2009 Summer Tour.
