# American Idol 5-3 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2005, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170 "2005-05-03T10:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/161 "2005-05-05T03:06:43Z")
But why would you tell? If you were desperate to be famous and make it as a singer, would you tell if you thought that having a relationship with a judge might improve your chances just a teeny bit? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/162 "2005-05-05T04:33:46Z")
At the risk of being too loud, may I just say: **WHOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!** Scott’s gone, Scott’s gone, Scott’s gone…Hey, I’m really enjoying typing this…but I’ll stop. I tried throughout the day to get a vote through for Bo, but as usual it didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/163 "2005-05-05T04:40:03Z")
Ah, Scott’s FINALLY gone. Now there’s a top four I have no problem with! YAY! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/164 "2005-05-05T04:41:07Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > The first person Ryan mentions is always safe. No: Nikko was the first person Ryan called down on the week 4 results show, and he was out. Guess Ryan’s fakeout worked on Bo—he looked pretty pissed when he was told to stay on stage. Sigh. I have to admit, Scott touched my fuzzy ol’ heart. I wish him well from now on. Oh, and incidentally, last night he said, “ **Probably** picking out my songs for next week.” I don’t call that phrasing arrogant. And he smiled tonight! I like him so much better when he smiles. Glad it wasn’t Bo or Vonzell. If it had been Bo, I honestly would have seen no point in continuing to watch. And thank Og Vonzell was safe! Would have been okay with Anthony going. Also would have been okay with Carrie, but in that case, the renewed backlash against Scott would have made last week look like an Easter parade. Off to watch the expose on ABC! Not that I expect anything earthshattering, but everyone else will be watching it, so I might as well be in the loop. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/165 "2005-05-05T04:43:37Z")
What a non-story. Just follow the money. Ask yourself this: Which would get more attention and sell more records? “I schtupped Paula Abdul.” “I did nothing of interest.” Your call. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/166 "2005-05-05T08:08:14Z")
Yay… America made the right call for once ;). This season seems similar to Season 2 in that it seems that everyone knows who’ll be the final two (caveat, just because it seems that way doesn’t mean it’ll happen ;)). The funny thing, however, is that American Idol is a competition to find the next ‘pop’ star and those two, Carrie and Bo, would probably end up releasing albums under different music genres (country and rock, respectively). Just amuses me. Though I guess people would get tired of all the pop stars and root for (and get) people of other genres which are popular in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/167 "2005-05-05T10:53:22Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > Why are the parents being interviewed in a bar? That’s where they were working. They’re singers. I guess I’m surprised that I’m surprised that Paula’s being defended here. A judge offering clandestine help to one contestant over another is one of the low totems on the morality pole. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/168 "2005-05-05T12:01:23Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I guess I’m surprised that I’m surprised that Paula’s being defended here. A judge offering clandestine help to one contestant over another is one of the low totems on the morality pole. I didn’t watch the “exposé” because (1) I was off celebrating these awesome phoenomenal cosmic birthday powers that I just found out last night that I have (and believe me, if I knew I had them earlier, we’d have all had one HELL of a blowout bash, believe you me!) and (b) I think Corey Clark is a big-time punk-ass world-class _schmuck_. I don’t believe for one second that Paula slept with him, or even offered to. Why? Because even as drunk and drugged-up as she appears to be this season, even as dim as she sometimes comes off, even she recognizes that Corey is an _entire tool box_. And ugly, too. However, if Justin Guarini would allege that he had an affair with Paula? That, I would believe. Justin’s Sideshow Bob hair has mystical (evil) seductive powers, I think. > [@Mama Tiger](#): > > I’m glad part of your fantasy birthday present came through – although I must say I wouldn’t object to the rest of it, either (as long as I could have Sayid from Lost rubbing my feet, too)! Oooh … that would work for me as well. If Sayid is unavailable, then Jack would do. Or the Brothers from TAR – one for each foot. Sigh. I wish I knew about these powers sooner, I really do. > [@Queen Tonya](#): > > Now that you know you’ve got this power, what will you wish for next year? > [@Jaade](#): > > … you must swear to only use your powers for good … _Bwahahahahaha **hahaha**!_ Next year, I’ll take over the entire network, and it will be renamed “RRBFTV” – rockle Reality Boyfriend TV! Entire shows devoted to: Bo Bice, in leather pants; Ian Rosenberger, swimming around with dolphins and generally acting like a cutie-pie dork; Uchenna Agu, doing backflips in airports and telling his wife how beautiful she is … ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/169 "2005-05-05T13:21:38Z")
For your reading pleasure: some AI threads from 2003. Diogenes called Corey “slick and untrustworthy” 🙂 [AI thread 1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=168953&highlight=Corey) [AI Thread 2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=170817&highlight=Corey) [AI Thread 3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=172534&highlight=Corey) [AI Thread 4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=174119&highlight=Corey) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/170 "2005-05-05T13:38:06Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > For your reading pleasure: some AI threads from 2003. Diogenes called Corey “slick and untrustworthy” 🙂 He also tagged Ruben, Clay and Kim Locke as the front runners! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/171 "2005-05-05T13:39:21Z")
And this from **hillbilly queen** : > [@](#): > > Corey is pure EVIL. Oh sure, he looks cute and sweet, but that’s just so Paula will look into his eyes. Then he uses his mind control powers to make her think he can carry a tune. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/172 "2005-05-05T15:15:13Z")
> [@Rockle](#): > > I don’t believe for one second that Paula slept with him, or even offered to. Why? Because even as drunk and drugged-up as she appears to be this season, even as dim as she sometimes comes off, even she recognizes that Corey is an entire tool box. I believed him for a number of reasons. 1. He had both her cell phone number and home phone number on a slip of paper he claimed was given to him by a messenger. They were correct. 2. He had no cell phone when he went to Hollywood (and no money either), but had two cell phones after his famous serenade to Paula: one that Idol had given all contestants, and another that Paula had given him and instructed him to use only for calling her. 3. He still had the receipt for activation of the Paula phone, it bore her signature, and the clerk at the phone store recalled them coming in to activate it. 4. His phone bills for the Paula phone showed hundreds of calls from her home and cell. Some of them were between two and three hours long. 5. He produced a voice-mail message from Paula in which she told him that reporters might be contacting him and for him to say nothing, and to call her ASAP. 6. Two of his friends separately corroborated details about being with him and Paula at a local night club, where she was constantly hanging on him and feeling him up. 7. His mother spoke to Paula numerous times when answering the phone at home. 8. He described Paula’s bathroom, bedroom, and guest bedroom in detail, including a carpeted ramp, a jaccuzi tub with TV, and three dogs whom he enumerated by name. 9. He took the reporter to Paula’s home, using the same route he had taken dozens of times. 10. He produced receipts for clothing Paula had bought him to wear the night he sang a song that Randy had played when Randy was in Journey (I think it was Foolish Heart) at Paula’s advice. The clothes cost more than $400 — money he didn’t have. 11. All activity on the Paula phone stopped the day he was expelled, and resumed the day rumors leaked of the current story. Those are what I can recall off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/173 "2005-05-05T15:47:36Z")
Wow, **Lib** , that is a lot of detail. Maybe I just watched too many episodes of “The X-Files” and “Law & Order,” but doesn’t that almost seem like too much evidence (or should I say, “evidence”)? It’s like a preponderance of evidence, isn’t it? Like I said, I didn’t watch the exposé, so maybe you can answer some questions I now have: > [@Liberal](#): > > 1. He had both her cell phone number and home phone number on a slip of paper he claimed was given to him by a messenger. They were correct. > > 2. He still had the receipt for activation of the Paula phone, it bore her signature, and the clerk at the phone store recalled them coming in to activate it. > > 3. His phone bills for the Paula phone showed hundreds of calls from her home and cell. Some of them were between two and three hours long. > > 4. All activity on the Paula phone stopped the day he was expelled, and resumed the day rumors leaked of the current story. (These are out of order so I can ask my questions – I do not mean to mislead anyone by doing this, just trying to put my thoughts in order.) The numbers “were” correct, or still are? Who corroborated that the numbers were or still are correct? Why would Corey have the receipt for a phone Paula paid for? If they really were carrying on a relationship, why wouldn’t Paula have called him – or why wouldn’t he have called her – after he was kicked off? Wouldn’t he have wanted to continue to pursue the relationship, even if it was just to further his own career? Didn’t she want to see or help him any more? Why would someone continue to pay for a phone if it wasn’t being used? And why would he keep a cell phone if it wasn’t working any more? (Did the reporter ask any of these questions?) > [@Liberal](#): > > 1. He produced a voice-mail message from Paula in which she told him that reporters might be contacting him and for him to say nothing, and to call her ASAP. What was the date of the voice mail? Was it recently, or did it go back to when he was kicked off the show? Does the message actually say, “It’s Paula?” Did anyone verify that the calls actually originated from Paula? How do we know that he didn’t also get messages from “Idol’s” or Paula’s attorneys advising him of the same thing? Seems that only certain pieces of evidence were kept, doesn’t it? > [@Liberal](#): > > 1. He described Paula’s bathroom, bedroom, and guest bedroom in detail, including a carpeted ramp, a jaccuzi tub with TV, and three dogs whom he enumerated by name. > > 2. He took the reporter to Paula’s home, using the same route he had taken dozens of times. Did Corey or the reporter – or anyone, for that matter – produce actual photographs of the inside of Paula’s home? Of any part of Paula’s home? (Entertainment shows and scandal mags show “insider pictures” all the time, so it’s not like the pics can’t be found somewhere.) Did any neighbors or anybody ever say they saw Corey there? His car? Any strange cars? Once he was able to get Paula’s address, it would be fairly easy to create a route to “prove” you’ve been to the house. I don’t mean to be so skeptical, but Corey doesn’t come off to me as a scorned lover in any way. He is coming off as a STALKER. Even if his allegations are true, why didn’t he say anything to producers? Reporters? Anyone? Why did it take so long for him to come out with an album and a potential book if he and Paula were so tight? What accounts for the gaps in communication between the two? And if he ever really cared for her, why on earth would he be so spiteful and hurtful now? Does he actually think that this is going to help him at all? > [@Liberal](#): > > 1. He produced receipts for clothing Paula had bought him to wear the night he sang a song that Randy had played when Randy was in Journey (I think it was Foolish Heart) at Paula’s advice. The clothes cost more than $400 — money he didn’t have. Were these receipts signed by Paula, or were they just “receipts”? Because I thought I read that contestants got a wardrobe allowance of $450 per week (might have been less then, not sure, and I got this info from the 'Net, I think, so it could be complete hogwash). Certainly what you remember seems like an awful lot of potentially incriminating details, but to my mind, these details only raise more questions. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/174 "2005-05-05T16:43:31Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > 1. He produced receipts for clothing Paula had bought him to wear the night he sang a song that Randy had played when Randy was in Journey (I think it was Foolish Heart) at Paula’s advice. Randy was playing in Steve Perry’s band, not Journey. I just wanted to pop in and say how ridiculous Randy looked in that video! I know it was 1985, but…damn that was funny. I believe the story for most of the reasons Liberal noted above. A few of those things, like his friends “corroborating” his story of seeing her in a nightclub, can be easily made up. But the phone message did say, “It’s Paula…”. My only question is when was that call made? During the affair or during the current controversy? As for the timing of the story and the _CD_ ( :rolleyes: ), I don’t think it disproves anything, I think he’s just using the affair for publicity. It’s not like they were still seeing each other. I’m sure it’s been in his hip pocket since he started recording and now it’s coming in handy. Oh yeah, I forgot…YAY! SCOTT’S GONE! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/175 "2005-05-05T17:03:42Z")
> [@Rockle](#): > > The numbers “were” correct, or still are? They were, and the cell still is. (It belongs to her, but he is in possession of it.) Whether the home number is still the same, I don’t know. > [@](#): > > Who corroborated that the numbers were or still are correct? The reporter. > [@](#): > > Why would Corey have the receipt for a phone Paula paid for? As I understand it, his receipt was for activation, which they both signed. Both got copies. He had to sign because he would have possession. She had to sign because he had no credit. > [@](#): > > If they really were carrying on a relationship, why wouldn’t Paula have called him – or why wouldn’t he have called her – after he was kicked off? I’m not sure that “relationship” is the right word, at least not in that sense. Certainly, he never used it. Paula contacted him through a messenger. After thinking it over most of the day (he thought it might be a joke or setup), he finally called her around midnight. She sent a car for him. According to him, she always initiated contact and made first moves. Their first kiss was her leaning into him in the car. Why she stopped contacting him was not explained. I assumed that she considered him too hot of a potato at that point. > [@](#): > > Wouldn’t he have wanted to continue to pursue the relationship, even if it was just to further his own career? Again, he never pursued, and there wasn’t really a relationship in the sense of a mutual partnership. > [@](#): > > Didn’t she want to see or help him any more? My personal take is that she wanted to “help” him so long as it was expedient. Scandal is seldom expedient, and she likely wanted to remove herself from it. > [@](#): > > Why would someone continue to pay for a phone if it wasn’t being used? I don’t know. I assumed that it was paid in advance with the highest dollar contract, possibly for a period of years. But that’s just a guess. One thing is certain, though. It was active and had a recent voice mail message from Paula. > [@](#): > > And why would he keep a cell phone if it wasn’t working any more? It was working. She just didn’t call him. > [@](#): > > Did the reporter ask any of these questions? Well, some of them were unnecessary, as you can now see. But he did ask quite a bit about the nature of the “relationship”, enough to establish that his role was pretty much that of a star-struck kid finding himself being wooed by a successful wealthy woman almost twice his age. Pretty much standard Hollywood fare. > [@](#): > > What was the date of the voice mail? Was it recently, or did it go back to when he was kicked off the show? Recent, but I couldn’t remember the date, so I played it back on DVR. \*Reporter: And then four weeks ago, on April 8th, news leaked that he sent a tell-all book proposal to publishers. That day, Corey says, he awakes to a message alert on his phone. Voiceover: To replay this message, press 1. Voicemail: Hi, it’s Paula. Call me back. Listen, if the press is trying to talk to you, you say absolutely nothing. That’s all you do… Reporter: He says it’s Paula Abdul apparently reacting to the news leak. Voicemail: …these people are crazy. I don’t know what it’s regarding, but something’s going on. Okay? I hope you’re doing well.\* There’s no question that it was Paula’s voice, complete with her characteristic oddball pauses and cadence. Clark goes on to say that she and her assistant called several times that morning and over the next few days, attempting to calm him down (which he thought was funny, because he was calm while they were panicking), and trying to talk him out of writing a book (which he never had intended to do) using several different approaches and tactics including a threat to sue. > [@](#): > > Did anyone verify that the calls actually originated from Paula? Unless the bills the reporter presented were fraudulent, the calls were from Paula’s home and cell. > [@](#): > > do we know that he didn’t also get messages from “Idol’s” or Paula’s attorneys advising him of the same thing? He did get those other calls as well. > [@](#): > > Seems that only certain pieces of evidence were kept, doesn’t it? I don’t know what you mean. The phone bills were ordinary phone bills with Paula’s calls highlighted in yellow. The receipts were like any other receipts. His mother routinely answered the phone at her home. He knew where she lived because he’d been there numerous times. What might he have kept that he failed to in your view? The evidence is as incriminating of him as it is of her, except that she was a judge and he was a contestant. > [@](#): > > Did Corey or the reporter – or anyone, for that matter – produce actual photographs of the inside of Paula’s home? Of any part of Paula’s home? Not that I recall. > [@](#): > > Did any neighbors or anybody ever say they saw Corey there? His car? Any strange cars? Not that I recall. But he didn’t have a car. He had no money at all. She sent cars for him. > [@](#): > > Once he was able to get Paula’s address, it would be fairly easy to create a route to “prove” you’ve been to the house. I suppose so. It’s a bit tougher, though, when you don’t have the money to blow on something like that, and when you live on the other side of the continent. > [@](#): > > Even if his allegations are true, why didn’t he say anything to producers? Paula told him that if he told, he would get them both in trouble. He was still vying for the Idol title. > [@](#): > > don’t mean to be so skeptical, but Corey doesn’t come off to me as a scorned lover in any way. He is coming off as a STALKER. […shrug…] If so, she made it awfully easy for him, and facilitated it at every step. > [@](#): > > Why did it take so long for him to come out with an album and a potential book if he and Paula were so tight? They weren’t tight. He was just fucking her. You’re losing sight of the fact that there is a perspective here from a 38-year-old woman and another from a 20-year-old kid. He did not have the life experience to understand what was going on here. Kids in the projects don’t get wooed by celebrities every day. > [@](#): > > What accounts for the gaps in communication between the two? What gaps do you mean? > [@](#): > > And if he ever really cared for her, why on earth would he be so spiteful and hurtful now? Does he actually think that this is going to help him at all? Again, I think you misconstrue the nature of the relationship. He was not in love with her. From the song he’s written, which you can Google, I get the sense that he eventually felt used and abandoned by her, and is just undergoing the ordinary cycles of emotions that people in abusive relationships typically undergo. > [@](#): > > Were these receipts signed by Paula, or were they just “receipts”? I don’t remember. But I remember seeing the store front, and a clerk (or the manager, I’m not sure which) verified off-camera that they were there together that day. > [@](#): > > I thought I read that contestants got a wardrobe allowance of $450 per week (might have been less then, not sure, and I got this info from the 'Net, I think, so it could be complete hogwash). I don’t know anything about that, but seven of his fellow contestants who were eliminated in that time-frame were interviewed together, and were shocked about the whole thing. They not only got no money, they got precious little exposure to the judges. It was unthinkable, for them, that there would be any level of fraternization with judges outside the auditions — let alone to have phone conversations and shopping trips. Not one of them had even seen a judge outside the auditorium other than passing through the lobby or something like that. > [@](#): > > Certainly what you remember seems like an awful lot of potentially incriminating details, but to my mind, these details only raise more questions. I agree. But at this point, I think it’s Paula who needs to supply the answers. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/176 "2005-05-05T17:04:47Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > Randy was playing in Steve Perry’s band, not Journey. I just wanted to pop in and say how ridiculous Randy looked in that video! I know it was 1985, but…damn that was funny. Agreed! 😃 Hillarious. And thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/177 "2005-05-05T17:10:56Z")
Just one more thing about paying for the phone. My guess was a long-term contract, but it could also be the case that Paula’s accountant was just paying it along with the other bills. Celebrities, as Bill Maher said of himself recently, seldom actually see any of their money. Their financial affairs are handled for them. It’s not like they sit down at a desk and pull bills out the drawer, writing checks and licking envelopes. They don’t run by the bank and make deposits. So it is conceivable that the phone bill just kept getting paid for years with no one thinking a thing about it. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/178 "2005-05-05T17:45:02Z")
**Lib** , thanks for the clarifications. You are right: Paula needs to answer some of these questions. As far as I can muster, she hasn’t really said _anything_ about this to date. More questions, because you seem to be pretty in the know. I read elsewhere, and also heard from conversations with co-workers who watched, that the phone bills shown did not show the carrier – do you remember if this is true? Someone also said that they have Sprint, and the bill doesn’t look like any Sprint bill she’s ever seen. Also, if Paula or Paula’s people were paying the bill, why would Corey have a copy? (I can’t even get a copy of my _own_ bill without providing passwords, secret question answers, notarized copies of forms in triplicate, etc., so I shudder to think what might be required for someone else, outside law enforcement.) Also, when the reporter verified that the cell phone number is correct, how did he do that? Did they say? I would imagine that Paula has caller ID, so I doubt that she would have answered it if a strange number, or a number for “ABC News,” appeared on her screen. (Half the time I don’t answer the phone even when I know who’s calling.) Did they only verify that the number is still active? I know that cell phone numbers get recycled: some guy named “Bubba” had my number long before I did – I still sometimes get his collection agency calls. To answer your question about “what evidence” Corey could have kept … I was just thinking that much of the backup he has sounds like it is (1) “eyewitness” testimony from family and friends (dubious at best) and (2) other stuff that can be faked, altered, etc. I don’t know what I think he _should_ have; it’s just that he seems to have stuff that any Internet user could find a way to get, or have made, if they needed or wanted it. Like, the voice mail. We only have Corey’s word for it that the voice mail came on April 8th, right? My cell phone voice mails come with date stamps, but I know from experience that the date stamps do not always match the messages. Just today I got a message from my sister, dated last night, but which was actually left for me last week, while I was on vacation. Also, I don’t want to sound like a total Paula apologist. Since she hasn’t said anything, I can’t question her version of the story. I want to say I don’t care about this, but obviously I do. I am _fascinated_, and now I need to find a copy of this story. I totally think that Corey is a lying scuzbag, but I also think I have to do a lot of work to defend Paula, and that concerns me. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/179 "2005-05-05T18:10:01Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > **Lib** , thanks for the clarifications. You are right: Paula needs to answer some of these questions. As far as I can muster, she hasn’t really said _anything_ about this to date. Yeah, I don’t really have a dog in this fight. I didn’t even watch that season. I’m just going by what I’ve seen and heard. > [@](#): > > More questions, because you seem to be pretty in the know. I read elsewhere, and also heard from conversations with co-workers who watched, that the phone bills shown did not show the carrier – do you remember if this is true? Someone also said that they have Sprint, and the bill doesn’t look like any Sprint bill she’s ever seen. Also, if Paula or Paula’s people were paying the bill, why would Corey have a copy? (I can’t even get a copy of my _own_ bill without providing passwords, secret question answers, notarized copies of forms in triplicate, etc., so I shudder to think what might be required for someone else, outside law enforcement.) Maybe it differs from local service to local service, because our bills have extensive itemized detail. It’s just part of the service, I guess. I have the screen frozen on one of the phone bills, and it says at the top that the carrier is “TDS”. The highlighted calls are all Beverly Hills (and are the only ones from Beverly Hills). One number is 310-77… (the rest blanked) and is the cell phone. The other is 818-98… (the rest blanked) and is the home phone. The parts of the numbers on the bills match the parts of the numbers shown on the slip of paper given to Corey by the messenger. The calls are all throughout the day, and go on after midnight, including one that is 129 minutes at 1:02 AM. > [@](#): > > Also, when the reporter verified that the cell phone number is correct, how did he do that? Did they say? I would imagine that Paula has caller ID, so I doubt that she would have answered it if a strange number, or a number for “ABC News,” appeared on her screen. (Half the time I don’t answer the phone even when I know who’s calling.) Did they only verify that the number is still active? I know that cell phone numbers get recycled: some guy named “Bubba” had my number long before I did – I still sometimes get his collection agency calls. I don’t know. > [@](#): > > To answer your question about “what evidence” Corey could have kept … I was just thinking that much of the backup he has sounds like it is (1) “eyewitness” testimony from family and friends (dubious at best) and (2) other stuff that can be faked, altered, etc. I don’t know what I think he _should_ have; it’s just that he seems to have stuff that any Internet user could find a way to get, or have made, if they needed or wanted it. I don’t know whether he had either a computer or the Internet. But it just struck me as odd that, on the one hand you were saying he had too much evidence, and on the other hand you were asking for more (pictures of the house and so forth). > [@](#): > > Like, the voice mail. We only have Corey’s word for it that the voice mail came on April 8th, right? My cell phone voice mails come with date stamps, but I know from experience that the date stamps do not always match the messages. Just today I got a message from my sister, dated last night, but which was actually left for me last week, while I was on vacation. Yeah, I suppose that any evidence could be questioned. Clocks could be wrong. Conspiracies could be afoot. He could have a secret stash of money which he uses to stalk celebrities. I don’t know. But that particular item will be easy enough to check when this month’s bill comes. The call should be there with the right time-stamp. Of course, the phone company could be a part of the conspiracy… > [@](#): > > Also, I don’t want to sound like a total Paula apologist. Since she hasn’t said anything, I can’t question her version of the story. I want to say I don’t care about this, but obviously I do. I am _fascinated_, and now I need to find a copy of this story. I totally think that Corey is a lying scuzbag, but I also think I have to do a lot of work to defend Paula, and that concerns me. I suppose that I’m fortunate in this instance to have no prejudices against either party. Sometimes, even scuzbags tell the truth. And silence is seldom a compelling rebutal. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170/180 "2005-05-05T18:14:20Z")
If a contestant was advanced on the show because he received special treatment from a judge, it’s an issue whether or not there was a sexual relationship. The nature of the show is such that the judges do not have direct influence on that outcome of the competition once it reaches the final 12 and the voting is determined by the public, but just getting a contestant _into_ the final 12 is a big deal and could theoretically unfairly injure other contestants who are more deserving so this might be an FCC issue. Whether there was a sexual relationship I think is a contractual issue for Abdul and Fox more than a legal or FCC issue. Whether Paula slept with Clarke, I don’t know. Circumstantially, it does appear that she had an usually close relationship with him that she did not have with other constestants and that, in itself, is a problem. I still think Clarke is slippery and untrustworthy and may be exaggerating the relationship into more than it was. At the very least he’s a weaselly little back-stabber who willingly cheated in the competition. It’s not like he was some innocent schoolboy victimized by a predator. He was a legal adult who knew that having sex with a judge was violative of his own contract, and if he knew he was getting special treatment for this relationship, then he was just as complicit in his own cheating as Paula was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-3/302170.md?page=10)