Corey Clark is not done with his suing spree — he’s filed lawsuits against FOX and others for defamation over the alleged Paula Abdul affair. Many former contestants are coming forward to side with Idol after the show was accused of racism. And American Idol has launched a new mobile app. Read on to find out all the features, including a new way to vote for your favorite singers.
Idol Roundup: 9 Contestants Accuse the Show of Racism >>>
Corey Clark Sues FOX Over Alleged Paula Abdul Affair
Some people just don’t know when to give up and go away. Last week, nine former contestants, including season 2’s Corey Clark, accused the show of racism. Now Corey is at it again, this time suing FOX, E! Entertainment and two law firms for “allegedly defaming him in comments made about his exit from the show as well as the alleged affair with [Paula] Abdul,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The complaint he filed with the Tennessee federal court is 44 pages long, and is available to read online.
Two law firms, Gibson Dunn and Morrison & Foerster, were hired by FOX to investigate the alleged affair. Corey claims that because the law firms had worked for the network before, there’s no way they could be considered an “independent council” and therefore wouldn’t be fair and unbiased in their assessment. As we know by now, Abdul was never found guilty of having an affair with the former contestant. Corey calls it a “sham investigative report,” and he experienced “tremendous reputational damage” as a result, including being shut out from his record label and being evicted from his house, which resulted in him having to go on food stamps. It got so bad that in 2006, he attempted suicide by hanging himself from a rope made out of bed sheets.
How does E! Entertainment figure into this lawsuit? Well, the E! Network aired an E! True Hollywood Story on Paula Abdul in January 2012 in which the affair was denied. Out of all the components in this lawsuit, this one against E! seems to be the most ridiculous because it’s completely unrelated to anything else.
So when it comes down to it, as the lawsuit notes, “Investigators spent three and a half months reviewing materials provided by Clark and Abdul and investigating 43 people (10 of whom were eyewitnesses to the conduct between Clark and Abdul alleged by Clark) in an effort to further disparage Clark’s name and reputation and conceal the facts and true nature of Clark’s disqualification and romantic relationship with Abdul.”
This is just another thread in the long line of attempts on the part of Corey Clark to grab attention. Keep in mind that he was kicked off Idol 10 years ago, and it’s been eight years since he first revealed the alleged affair. And if he hit rock bottom in 2006, why didn’t he file this lawsuit back then? We’ll keep you updated on any further developments.
Former Contestants React to Racism Lawsuit
Speaking of Corey Clark, a handful of Idol finalists are coming forward to denounce accusations that the show is racist, which was a complaint filed by nine disqualified contestants. Melinda Doolittle tells TMZ, “It is shocking to see such allegations. In my experience on the show, the Idol team strives to champion everyone, regardless of race. However, each contestant is explicitly told that the withholding of information that may compromise the show or artist can and will result in immediate disqualification.” Vonzell Solomon echoes the sentiment, saying, “I didn’t experience any of that [racial discrimination] … all of our contracts were clear about how the background checks worked and that we could be disqualified if we lied about our past.”
In an interview with RumorFix, Jacob Lusk sheds some light as well: “I think me being an African-American male and being on Idol, I think I’m a pretty safe gage as to whether American Idol is racist and I can undoubtedly say they’re not. I just think that it just so happens that those particular individuals were the ones that lied and got caught. And they tell you, don’t lie to us, we’re going to find out. I mean, you have a record, you have a warrant and you get on television, somebody’s gonna tell somebody; somebody’s gonna find out.” Jacob of all people knows what he’s talking about. When he auditioned, he told producers about his warrants and unpaid parking tickets.
Part of this complaint is that Corey Clark and Co. say they were considered employees of the show and thus being discriminated against is illegal. Attorney Anahita Sedaghatfar explains to FOX411 what the law actually states about this issue. “The California Fair Employment and Housing Act and Title VII, which prohibit racial discrimination in employment, simply do not apply because it will be hard to prove that these individuals were employees.” Instead, contestants would most likely be considered independent contractors.
American Idol Launches New App
Pull out your Apple and Android devices because American Idol just released its own app. You can sync it with your social media accounts and share content with your friends. Other features including the latest news straight from the official show website, videos of season 12 auditions, photos, and profiles and interviews with the judges and contestants. There’s even a countdown at the top so you’ll always know when the next episode airs.
More features will be revealed as the season progresses. And when the power is handed over to the audience to vote starting in March, we’ll be able to vote for contestants from within the app using AT&T’s American Idol voting platform. This isn’t the first time Idol has expanded the methods of voting. Besides using the toll free numbers and texting, the show has also allowed viewers to vote on Facebook in recent years. And now with the app, they’re taking a page from The X Factor, which has done the same thing with their Xtra Factor app.
Once you’re done downloading the new American Idol app, you can stay up to date on all your favorite shows including the #1 singing competition by downloading the BuddyTV Guide app for free for your phone and adding Idol to your very own watch-list.
(Image courtesy of WENN)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
