I don’t understand why everybody is OBSESSED with Frenchie. Yeah, she could sing (if you consider “really loud” to be good), but we only saw about a combined three minutes of her singing. Some of the finalists haven’t even been featured on the show; how do you know they couldn’t be the eventual winner? And maybe FOX wouldn’t have cut a skinny blonde girl if she was in porn but if they DID cut a skinny blonde girl that had a great voice, do you think there would be such an uproar?
And I have no problem with either but I can recognize that there is a difference between stripping and porn (I don’t know exactly what Frenchie did).
And at this point, if she was to be let back in, she would have a clear advantage with all of the publicity that she has received.
I just don’t see why it matters so much. Also, I suspect that, much like the show, a majority of the people that signed the petition were the same people “signing” over and over again.
That’s a good question. I hope I don’t get flamed to a crisp for saying this, but is it because she’s… not the typical looking American Idol contestant? Would this uproar happen for Kimberly Caldwell? Where’s the outrage for that other dude who got kicked off?
No joke, I think we need to relax… This isn’t our investment. If the company is nervous that they would be at some risk at losing viewership because of this then it is their business. Don’t bother calling or signing a petition if you hate that it happened, just don’t watch the show. That will get their attention not stupid websites.
Why would you be flamed? I feel certain that her obesity is a great deal of what this is all about, for both the producers, and the fans. I think it also plays a part both in what makes her so wonderful to watch, and the reason people like to watch her.
I think it’s silly to think that the fact of her fatness has no bearing on any of this.
Don’t misunderstand me, though: the woman has ooodles of talent.
I’d just like to mention that the radio station I’m listening to just mentioned the savefrenchie.com website. There are also 10300 signatures on the petition.
If they let her back in, it could prove that people would vote for her to prove the producers wrong. It could prove that people know her story and want to support her. It could prove that people consider her the “wronged” contestant and make it their mission to make things right.
I said that I didn’t know what Frenchie did but there is a difference between doing masturbation videos and stripping at a club. I am not saying one is right or one is wrong; I am just saying that there is a difference. Also, one leaves behind evidence. If she did a video, I’m sure the producers would love to have the American Idol logo plastered in adult video stores.
I read on this site that people vote for their favorites hundreds of times. Do you really think that every person that watches takes the time to vote?
I don’t get it. She wasn’t the greatest thing ever created. If it was somebody else getting kicked out because of a porn scandal, would you care? Because she “bucked the trend” or whatever, she is automatically great? It could be behind the reason she got booted but isn’t it also part of the reason you are so outraged?
I think it’s kind of silly to say that Frenchie’s posing was “worse” than Nikki’s stripping or Sarah’s fetish videos. Sarah may have been fully clothed, but she was doing EXACTLY the same thing that Nikki and Frenchie were: She was displaying herself in order to titillate others. All three are morally equal.
The fears that her videos or pics would be dug up and made available with the American Idol logo is completely unfounded and illegal. Were the people who own these photos/videos to do that, they would be guilty of major copyright infringement.
What exactly is it we’re supposed to be saving Frenchie from?
I think it sucks that she got booted, but, she’s going to be getting lots of recording offers. NOT because of this supposed scandal but because she’s talented, and she doesn’t need to win a contest to prove it. I think she’ll be better off without the Americon Idle title.
So, do you think if Columbia Records had been honest and shown the very full figure of Martha Wash(the actual singer on Everybody Sweat Now by the C+C Music Factory) instead of that scrawny model Zelma, that they wouldn’t have been successful?
There are female and male singers over the past 10 to 20 years who have been fat and also successful.
Fat singers who have been successful = many, especially in arenas where singing is viewed as an art form (blues, gospel, opera).
Fat pop stars = not many (Meatloaf, Mama Cass), especially not many females. Of course, you can become a star and then get fat–Aretha looks more like Reuben every time I see her.
This is a pop star competition, not a talent competition. I do honestly believe that less attractive people have lower chances of pop success, and by attractive I mean something like the “lowest common denominator” definition of attractiveness–the vision of attractiveness held by the largest group of people. The C&C Music Factory lady might have been OK in places where singing was the key (in clubs, for ecxample) but I seriously doubt she would have gotten as much attention on MTV.
Overall I’m still very surprised at how people could develop such a deep bond with someone they have seen sing three times. Posting things like “NO NO NO NO” seems over the top.
I still can’t understand why you believe that Stoid.
It was obvious from her audition that Frenchie could be a star. If they just wanted to “give a fat girl a shot” why wouldn’t they have picked a mediocre singer?
We never would have seen Frenchie or heard her name if “they” were so against a fat girl winning.
I’ve never watched American Idol and I’d never heard of this woman until the story broke. But I think we are lacking enough information to support some of the claims that she was booted because she’s big or black, or a combination of both.
The TV Column in today’s Washington Post says that a sponsor pitched a fit. Some posters might think stripping is worse than a porn site, but evidently the sponsor disagrees. Neither opinion is objectively correct.
We also don’t know the identity of the sponsor so comparing Frenchie with the bondage girl or the stripper might be completely inapposite. For all we know this sponsor wasn’t involved in the first American Idol or Joe Millionaire. So saying it’s obviously because she’s big or black or a combination of both is assuming facts not in evidence here. For all we know, the advertiser isn’t saying bondage and stripping is better than porn because they didn’t have to make that choice. They had no financial interest in the shows that had the bondage girl as far as we know. Perhaps they didn’t have to rate the relative merits of the contestant’s actions. Maybe all they had to do is decide whether their consumers would like them sponsoring a show with a woman who posed for a website geared to underage women.
Let’s wait for actual information before we jump to conclusions about the reason for Frenchie’s booting.
That being said, I think it’s pretty uncool to let her compete for a while then boot her. They should have allowed the advertisers to vet the contestants ahead of time if they felt there could be a problem.
I also don’t understand this obsession with Frenchie. Maybe it is the JFK syndrome (JFK attained mythic status after getting shot). IMO, Reuben was the best Idol contestant bar none (even with Frenchie in it).
Also if a sponsor pitched a fit, Idol probably has to drop her. I mean the whole premise (realistically) is a clean-cut singer next door. As for ‘us’ picking the one: the record label has to protect its interest. They want someone considered clean-cut. That’s their right.