Ten former contestants of Fox's hit singing competition show "American Idol" are suing the show and its distributor for racial discrimination, and they want $25 million apiece, TMZ reports.
The contestants, all black and from various seasons of the show, have accused producers of a "cruel and inhumane" scheme to exploit them for ratings by illegally uncovering their arrest histories, using their backgrounds to humiliate them on national television.
Corey Clark (season 2), Jaered Andrews (Season 2), Jacob John Smalley (Season 2), Donnie Williams (Season 3), Terrell Brittenum (Season 5), Derrell Brittenum (Season 5), Thomas Daniels (Season 6), Akron Watson (Season 6), Ju'Not Joyner (Season 8), and Chris Golightly (Season 9) are among the former contestants who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Defense attorney James H. Freeman takes the stance that the popular reality show used the previous arrests of his clients to make them out to be "violent criminals, liars and sexual deviants," when none of the contestants had been convicted of the charges from their arrests.
The Huffington Post reports that according to Freeman, producers illegally asked contestants, "Have you ever been arrested?," which falls under violation of the California employment law. Freeman told TV Guide that he began looking into "Idol" and its alleged racism after season 11 contestant Jermaine Jones was removed from the show due to a number of outstanding warrants.
"I am offended they tried to paint me as a victim of discrimination. I appreciate the experience from Idol and embraced the good and bad from it," Jones told TMZ earlier this year. "I have moved on with my life....and have not authorized them to include me in the accusations."
Season 2's Frenchie Davis was infamously removed from the competition after details of her past posing nude in photographs came to the attention of producers, causing quite an uproar among viewers who were fans of the singer. Davis appeared eight years later as a contestant on NBC's "The Voice."
The show has been accused many times of letting on minorities who happen to be bad singers to purposefully mock, particularly by the now-defunct anti-singing competition site and forum, "Vote for the Worst." The site closed down in June, but consistently accused executive producer Nigel Lythgoe of contributing to the show and its spin-off's behind-the-scenes tricks to make everything appear more "real," as "Vote for the Worst" site owners claimed the show was an elaborate producer scheme that exploited many of its contestants for ratings.
Each plaintiff in the new lawsuit is suing "Idol" and its distributor, Freemantle Media, for discrimination and other misdeeds for $25 million each. The former contestants also want the show to adopt new anti-racism regulations to ensure it never happens again.
Click here to see photos of the former contestants who are suing the hit reality show.
