Former American Idol Contestant Sues Over Gaysploitation

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07/27/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

American Idol has a lesbian judge, Ellen DeGeneres, on the panel, but that doesn’t leave them immune to criticism over gay discrimination. The show has often featured gay and gender queer individuals in their audition process and often paints them as freaks of nature. Show the judges a man that isn’t a lumberjack and Simon Cowell is disgusted, Randy Jackson says “yo dawg” like a broken record and Paula pops some more pills. To be fair, the audition process doesn’t just hold up gays for ridicule, the show also targets fat women, non-conventionally attractive women and ‘nerdy’ men. It’s entertaining as long as you don’t think about it too hard and dissect what it means about yourself and the American public at large. The show has also been criticsized for the banter between host Ryan Seacrest and judge Simon Cowell, where they each insinuate that the other one is gay and that they hate each other.

Now the show is being sued by a gay person they held up to ridicule. The Advocate is reporting that Idol reject Ian Bernardo is suing the show for 300 million dollars in reparation for the mental distress he endured. Bernardo claims Idol “exploited my non-conforming appearance and sexual orientation. They did this by directing me to ‘gay it up’ in any appearance I made on camera.”

I believe Bernardo, however, he was also paid for his appearances on the show. So he was willfully participating in his own exploitation and that of his community. Basically, Ian was already compensated to make a jackass of himself and contribute to gay stereotypes. He doesn’t deserve extra money, certainly not to the tune of 300 million. Bernardo’s suit will most likely be thrown out, as no judge would take the claim seriously after seeing the price tag attached to it. Bernardo would have been better served to ask for less money. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.