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American Idol Skips Race Beat

frenchie
One contestant was black. The other white. Both were found to have racy photos posted online. But a few seasons ago, American Idol kicked off the Black contestant Frenchie Davis for posing her naked on an adult website . This season, they kept the white Antonella Barba after similar pictures of her surfaced.

AP reported March 6:

“We object to having one rule for black contestants and a different rule for white contestants who exhibit the same behavior,” said Najee Ali, community activist and founder of Project Islamic H.O.P.E.

What’s funny: The View’s Rosie O’Donnell made news Tuesday after calling American Idol producers racist on her show. Ironically, the show’s been criticized since Star Jones’ departure for running The View with an all-white full-time roster.

Don’t you just love when all-white spaces tackle inequalities and at the same time re-create them?

Posted at 8:36 AM, Mar 08, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments


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The difference between the two contestants is that Frenchie Davis was paid to pose nude while Antonella Barba had personal pictures surface on the Internet without her permission. This doesn't constitute different rules based on race. It is instead the right of the show to avoid having contestants who are ex porn stars when they are working to maintain a family-friendly image.

Posted by: My Pirate Captain | March 8, 2007 3:50 PM