Adam Lambert has admitted he got carried away with his sexually charged American Music Awards performance, but he's offering no apology.

The former American Idol contestant - whose raunchy display at the ceremony sparked complaints - said his performance wouldn't have caused as much controversy if he weren't openly gay, and said there were other "adult" moments in the show that caused no outrage.

Speaking on CBS' The Early Show, he said: "I admit I did get carried away, but I don't see anything wrong with it - I do see how people got offended and that was not my intention, my intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it."

While singing his song For Your Entertainment, Lambert kissed a male keyboardist, fondled a dancer and had another dancer briefly stuff his face in his crotch.

ABC received complaints and the network's show Good Morning America cancelled the singer's planned appearance because it said it couldn't trust what he'd do.

Lambert admitted he didn't rehearse some of the more risque elements of his performance - a point that particularly upset ABC, which said it was taken by surprise by what he did. In the future, he said he'd try to get these issues cleared beforehand.

But he said "if it had been a female pop performer doing (his) moves that were on the stage, I don't think there would be nearly as much of an outrage". "I think it's because I'm a gay male," he added.

Offered a chance to apologise, he declined.

He said he didn't consider that there may have been children watching because his performance came at nearly 11pm, adding: "I think it's up to the parents to discern what their child's watching on television. I'm not a babysitter. I'm a performer."