The producers of American Idol are bringing in independent counsel to determine whether judge Paula Abdul had an affair with one of the participants. As previously reported, contestant Corey Clark, who was ejected from the show in 2003 after failing to reveal that he was facing criminal charges, claims to have had an affair with Abdul during the course of the competition. Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori explained: "Any allegations against this show we take quite seriously." He refused to say whether the producers would fire Abdul if the allegations were found to be true, but the network continues to support her; she is included in a new Fox talent contest this summer, 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
Quite why any of this matters so very much is open to question. Observers claim that if proved, the allegation could damage the show's credibility, but one suspects that with the allegations already being out there, any damage this could do in the mind of the public has already been done. And in any case the American Idol contestants ultimately stand and fall on the result of a public vote, not necessarily the opinions of the judges, so it getting to the stage of an actual investigation into a possible case of sex between two consenting adults seems a bit extreme, as such fraternisation is hardly likely to have a massive impact on the vote. Then again, this is 'American' Idol, aired in a country where Janet Jackson had to go on TV to apologise for not showing her nipple on national television. So that might explain it then.