There have only been 9 contestants in American Idol to have been disqualified publicly, and all of them have been black. Lawyer James H. Freeman suspected something was up during season 11 when Jermaine Jones was kicked off the show, reports TMZ. Having dug a little deeper into the show's history, it seems to Freeman that American Idol is racist. 

It isn't simply that it's 9 black people that have been removed in the past, it is also the reasons American Idol chose to disqualify them. By California law, when seeking employment, employers may not ask prospective employees about their arrest history, however, Jermaine Jones was ousted on the grounds that he had not informed Idol about some outstanding warrants. According to Freeman, Idol employed private investigators to discover the truth behind its contestants. The results were then used to 'humiliate' those contestants and, most problematically of all, used to perpetuated "destructive stereotypes" about black people, portraying the men as "violent criminals, liars and sexual deviants," which they weren't. 

Freeman has sent a letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting permission to sue the show. If everything he says is correct, it sounds as though he's got a pretty good case. 

Executive Producer of American Idol, Nigel Lythgoe said: "We treat everybody the same ... no matter the race, religion or sex. I think we've always had a fantastic share of talent from contestants both black and white ... I don't think I've ever seen racism at the show."