The EEOC has given permission to former contestants of American Idol to sue the producers and Fox for employment discrimination based on race. Any such suits must first get the approval of the EEOC and it's a huge loss for Idol. The contestants claim they were disqualified from the show because of their arrest records and other reasons which had nothing to do with their singing and that all were people of color. American Idol should just settle this right now because they are going to fail in proving that the contestants were not employees because of the records that exist. They have changed their contracts since the original complaint and when one contestant after another testifies it's going to look pretty bad.
Idol says that a third of the winners of the show have been black. Yeah, no one is going to dispute that but how many contestants each season have been black. It's like they reach a certain number and say that's it.
Rach: Left you a message on the Blackface post from yesterday.
ReplyDeleteCheers Sherry : just read it. I reckon it'd be great to go through each others record collections (yeah, vinyl collector here). At the moment really into the American and English psych music. 13th Floor Elevators baby!
DeleteDoesn't it say in the application that you have to be under a certain age and disclose any arrests and what not?
ReplyDeleteIf I was Idol, I wouldn't roll over. It is a dying brand, so why give away the money? If they were DQd because of arrests/convictions, then every person in the suit is going to have to take the stand and have their crimes brought up. Drugs, violence, theft, I don't think that will play sympathetic to a jury.
American Idol won't lose this. Enty's being stupid.
ReplyDeleteIdol can simply say that a third of the winner have been black and get away with it. They can have Jennifer Hudson stand up and they'll be done.
There's no chance here.
Can the new Enty at least pretend to have legal knowledge?
ReplyDeleteKatie : I now know Enty's true identity. Chareth Cutestory. He specialises in maritime law.
DeleteFantasia is black. Rueben is black. They are blackkkkk, like deep south black. I don't see how anyone could say that about American Idol. They may be many thing but racist is not one of them. Longest serving judge was Randy! Like come on now!
ReplyDelete"Katie said...
ReplyDeleteCan the new Enty at least pretend to have legal knowledge?"
Right. Second this.
The blacks mak e up13% of the population, so actually, 1/3 is being more than fair. However, I think the percentage has increased to 15 or 16% in the last few years, but you get my point.
ReplyDeleteApparently 15 per cent of the American population is defined as black or African American. If the number of contestants is in that range then where is the discrimination theoretically. If the number of winners is 33 per cent, that's already over represented.
ReplyDeleteYou are also choosing contestants also based on what music is selling now and what will be selling and what niches have room for new talent or is this person good enough to beat the established artists already in that genre and the reality is that the soul and RnB genres are cluttered with mega talented people already. Have any of the Voice winners sold a decent amount of albums I never hear their names anymore. Though I enjoy that show more than American Idol.
And only X Factor as far as I hav seen allows rapper/singers or even allows contestants to showcase original music, the only time American Idol went there wasn't the guy white? That beat box kid can't even remember his name.
What exactly is deep south black?
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ReplyDeleteThis sounds so flippin' dumb. How does being a contestant on AI qualify as employment?
ReplyDeleteThe booted contestants did not disclose their criminal records. That was part of the application process. And it is very relevant to the AI machine.
ReplyDeleteThe finalists tour around the world as part of the AI roadshow. A criminal record will prevent that person from being able to enter most countries. A special visa has to be obtained, and depending on the crime, it may not be granted. Big headache, and those legal fees add up.
I don't blame AI one bit for not allowing those with criminal records to participate
There are so many talented, people to choose from. Why take that on????
@V: I think Idol contestants get what is the equivalent to a SAG card for reality show participants, which dictates pay and on-site benefits. It's stretching it, but it that's probably enough to call it employment.
ReplyDeleteThird on the the new enty at least making an effort to keep up the lawyer bit. Even I know the EEOC issuing a right-to-sue letter doesn't mean they believe AI is the KKK with mics.
ReplyDeleteThe lawyer's case was flimsy enough (employee vs contestant) that he had to throw in the race card.
You guys are so smart and right on.
ReplyDelete"Any such suits must first get the approval of the EEOC"
ReplyDeleteTotally, completely, utterly WRONG.
You don't need to file an EEOC complaint to file a lawsuit.
You also don't need the EEOC investigation to support your discrimination complaint. Even if the EEOC determines that the complaint can't be substantiated, you can still file suit.
Big Brother is way worse than AI...tokenism at it's worst.
ReplyDeleteThey tried to do a little bit better this year with casting.
I wish the black models would sue the fashion industry.
Thank you @ Lana Day and Iceberg for reading.
DeleteHere's a synopsis of what's going on: AI Lawsuit Moves Forward
Basically the lawsuit is about disqualifying black contestants for criminal records while not (as far as they know) disqualifying non-blacks for criminal records. That's the issue. The issue is not how many black or bi-racial finalists have been contestants on AI.
I skimmed the link, but I did not see examples of Non Black performers having previous arrests ignored. All I saw is someone who found a shady attorney to work on spec in an attempt to make a cash grab. It wouldn't be hard for an attorney to do background checks and provide examples of Non Blacks who were arrested prior to being on AI.
ReplyDelete@Count: the article was simply a more detailed synopsis and was not meant to itemize or give examples of non-whites without criminal records. The defendants (AI) will have to show that they have standards that are legal and applied them fairly across the board. Yeah, it looks shady as hell but if they were willy-nilly about who could stay and who had to go then that does need to be brought to light and corrected. Also, this suit could set a precedent for other shows of their kind and create better standards. And actually, I'd be surprised if they couldn't easily pull up clear records to show what they've done. Too much money is involved in this enterprise to not have something in place.
ReplyDeleteNon-blacks not non-whites. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteLast years winner is black.
ReplyDeleteCan I sue them for keeping this karaoke show on-air?
ReplyDeleteMost people will file a complaint first with the EEOC. They will do a brief investigation and if they don't decide to pursue charges against the employer the will issue a right to sue letter to the claimant. It doesn't mean anything other than they aren't taking on the case themselves, but you are free to pursue it in court. Shit I'm just an HR person and I know this. C'mon Enty.
ReplyDeletefox shows, fox news and the owner of fox all sucks!
ReplyDeleteThe new Enty should stop pretending to be an attorney. It's embarrassing to see the completely inaccurate legal statements he/she makes on a regular basis. Or at least take the two seconds it takes to Google "right to sue letter EEOC" and see that you in fact do not have to have a right to sue letter before bringing a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I care less and less about coming to this site anymore. I wish the old Enty was back.