American Idol judge Paula Abdul is under increasing pressure to quit following those allegations by former contestant **Corey
Clark, who claims he had an affair with Abdul, and is shortly to appear in an ABC** news expose to discuss those claims. Clark alleges that the affair began whilst he was appearing on the show in 2003, prior to his disqualification for failing to admit a pending criminal charge, and that Abdul also provided him with "personal coaching" to help him advance in the competition. Clark has also played a recent answer phone message apparently left by Abdul, in which it seems she implored him not to talk about her or publish his memoirs.
A statement from the show's producers reiterated the notion that
Clark just isn't to be trusted: "Disqualified 'American
Idol' contestant Corey Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history. Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have, the producers of 'American Idol,'
FreemantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and FOX were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented with any evidence concerning his claims. We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive.
In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine
Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with 'American Idol' for profit and publicity."