Just when I thought American Idol couldn't get any worse, they go and do something like this. You may have heard that season seven American Idol hopeful David Hernandez was recently revealed as a former male stripper in a gay bar. Christmas has come early. There's nothing I love more than reality TV scandal. In fact American Idol is rooted in these revelations. In season two Corey Clark was disqualified after a previous arrest was revealed. Clark had allegedly beaten his 15-year-old sister. Later Clark came out against Idol judge Paula Abdul saying she seduced him and promised him fame in return for sexual favors. There was never any evidence to support his claims. What about season three contestant Frenchie Davis who was disqualified after topless photos of her surfaced online? Last season saw Antonella Barba, an early favorite who faced heat after racy photos of her surfaced on the Internet. So far this season all we had was 20-year-old Ramielle Malubay in MySpace.com pictures that revealed her bra and a profanity laced tirade against Christmas by Danny Noriega. And then scandal came like a thousand points of light when Hernandez' former boss Gordy Bryan of Dick's Cabaret came forward and said the Idol hopeful appeared fully nude and gave lap dances to the club's mostly male clientele. But there is no disqualification for Hernandez. American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick said "The truth is, we're never judgmental about what people do to earn a living. They've got to put food in people's mouths." Warwick went on to say, "If it were some sort of heavy porn, then maybe we'd have to take action, but certainly not on this." I would like to point out some serious discrepancies between Hernandez' treatment by the shows producers and Davis' treatment at their hands five years ago. Davis merely posed for some topless photos. If Warwick is to be believed that he is not judgmental of people doing what they need to do to earn a living, they never would have kicked Davis off the show. Idol justified their move in booting Davis because the photos of her appeared on a site that purportedly featured sexually explicit images of underage girls. That's a load of bull crap to cover their sexist behinds, I say. Frenchie Davis did not appear in hard core pornography. She was also not underage when the photos were taken. Nothing she did should have disqualified her from American Idol. I suppose if Davis had merely appeared topless in a strip club rather than the World Wide Web, she could have been the next American Idol. Now I am not condoning Davis' topless pictures. Neither am I passing judgment against strippers. I just think this is a glaring double standard. Maybe I'm a little skewed in my way of thinking, but since when is posing topless a more punishable offense then appearing fully nude in a strip club on a nightly basis? Oh wait, I forgot one crucial thing. Davis is a woman. They're called breasts people. Every other person in the world has them. Why do they make the world so uncomfortable? Hernandez can shake his money maker in the faces of a hundred men but Davis can't take off her top. This sexism cannot persist. The only way to remedy it is to bring back Davis for another shot at super stardom. Right here, right now, I am starting a petition to bring back Frenchie Davis as a contestant on American Idol. It's the only fair thing to do. At least Simon Cowell didn't let Hernandez get off Scott free, even if you did need super sonic hearing to catch it. After Hernandez's rendition of Meatloaf's "All Coming Back to Me Now" on Tuesday night Cowell could be heard whispering to his fellow judges, "say I liked the way you stripped it down."
American Idol reveals sexist tendencies
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Updated: Monday, December 29, 2008
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