Fantasia Barrino

American Idol is at the centre of a racism lawsuit after it was claimed black contestants were booted from the hit talent show as a direct result of discrimination. TMZ.com obtained a letter filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by New York lawyer James H Freeman, which accused the show of deliberately exploiting black contestants to improve ratings.

Entertainment lawyer Freeman requested permission to sue American Idol and Fox on behalf of nine former singing contestants who believe they were forced from the competition because of their race. His clients include Corey Clark, Jaered Andrews, Donnie Williams, Terrell Brittenum, Derrell Brittenum, Thomas Daniels, Akron Watson, Ju'Not Joyner and Chris Golightly. Freeman says he noticed something was awry when Jermaine Jones was kicked off the show in March 2012, with producers claiming he was disqualified because he had not told the show there were outstanding warrants for his arrest. Nine other people had been publically disqualified from the show: all were black. 

Three black contestants have won the show, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Jordin Sparks, while prominent judge Randy Jackson is black. Season two contestant Corey Clark sued MTV for $40 million in 2012 for their coverage of his disqualification from the show. 

Continue reading: Were American Idol Contestants Booted Because Of The Color Of Their Skin?

Fantasia Barrino, the winner of the third series of American Idol in 2004, has caused controversy by citing gay marriage as reasons why the world has gone mad, via Instagram, reports Mercury News. After a waves of retaliation against the singer, she has now apologized.

Her original, fairly confusing comment said: "I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT THE church House ... Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!!! I'm not doing Nothing for you ... My Life!!!!" 

Since then, however, her publicist has released an official statement to GoodAsYou to apologize for her comments, which said: "Ms. Barrino is not now, nor has she ever been an opponent of the LGBT community. She has supported and performed at numerous events that are sponsored by the LGBT community." While it may be true that she has felt happy to take money from her gay fans at gay events, her outburst via a personal form of social media perhaps makes her feelings a little clearer. Her views are clearly deigned by her faith by her reference to the Bible, but perhaps she neglected to read the passage that preaches "Love thy neighbour". 

Fantasia Barrino’s publicity reps have been working overtime trying to undo the damage she caused when she posted an apparently anti gay marriage rant on Instagram. The offending post, according to E! Online, read “I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT THE church House... Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!!! I'm not doing Nothing for you... My Life!!!!"

The Grammy winner’s PR people hastily penned a statement distancing Fantasia from the seemingly homophobic remarks, desperate not to be seen to shun the pink pound that is so powerful in the world of pop. “Comments made by Ms. Barrino through her Intragram account were recently taken far out of context,” came the statement. “Ms. Barrino is not now, nor has she ever been an opponent of the LGBT community. She has supported and performed at numerous events that are sponsored by the LGBT community. Whether it's through a live performance or placement on social media, Ms. Barrino uses every opportunity to reach out and connect with her fans, all of her fans.”

Barrino herself also added “It has been brought to my attention that something I said was taken out of context… I, Fantasia Monique Barrino, don't judge anyone because I don't want to be judged. The gay community is one of my largest supporters. I support the gay community as they support me. Bloggers please stop misrepresenting the facts.” An ill-timed bit of bad publicity for the American Idol champion, given that her single ‘Lose To Win’ is out on January 8, 2013.