TVSquad

Weren't Frenchie's pictures part of a paid photo shoot for a porno magazine?
Antonella's pics were private and never intended for public release.
Whether or not that should make a difference is a matter of opinion.

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The problem is that Antonella sucks as a singer and will be kicked off eventually, but Frenchie wasn't that bad of a singer and would have made it far. Those pics of Frenchie would have come out eventually if she made it farther.

Wah wah wah, throw the race card, wah wah wah. Do they realize that Antonella isn't exactly white.

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Didn't Frenchie specifically pose for pics that were to be posted online with the idea of making money? Thus far it seems like the pics that have circulated from Antonella were of a personal nature. If a couple makes a sex tape for their own private and that tape is stolen or somehow circulated unintentionally, it doesn't make them porn stars. I don't see how the two can be compared. Now if we learn that Antonella took naughty pics for money then the two are comparable.

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I agree, it's concerning and not fair but probably not a racial issue...If I am not mistaken, Frenchie was actually topless in her photos. Barba was not exposed per se in her photos. However, Fox should maintain the same policy for ALL contestants.

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the civil rights business is big business.

while Antonella is ten times hotter than frenchie, frenchie did have a better voice.

kind of lame that people find the need to scream "RACE!" all the time. This is more about fairness and precedent than a racial issue. these race charlatans are pretty annoying.

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Antonella != white.

Even if it is a racial issue, which I don't think it is, at least try to get the races right.

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The way they've treated the two may not be fair, but I really doubt it's racist.

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Ya I am sick of hear the race card. Can't we all just get along and can't this gal get a life and stop trying to get her 15 min. of fame. This will all blow over in 2 days and be forgot but in the mean time she is just trying to get famous for a day by saying this. It isn't a race thing, it is a popularity thing ... look at how many different races have been and are on American Idol, seriously!

Shut up and realize people are smarter then this to know if it is truly a race thing. Don't give this thing its 15 min of fame. I should.

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While I can support the idea that there was a double standard here, it's been four years. Frenchie needs to sit down. If she was so talented, how has she not found success yet (even quarterfinalists with decent voices can at least get a Brodway revival gig)?

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Bottom line, who cares? The Barba photos were not topless. Second, Barba is terrible, and shouldn't be lasting. Third, you can't whine your way back on Idol. If people are actually upset that Frenchie was booted after seeing one decent audition, then good. I'm glad it bothers them. And I'll be smiling when they wake up and realize they can't do a thing about it. It's just not that important.

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If I'm not mistaken, the Frenchie photos have yet to be seen and she, herself, went and told the producers. It was a big deal when it happened and I'm sure they would've come out by now if they're still around.

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Frenchie's problem was she was paid for the photos, they were a modeling gig she did to pay for college. As much as I can't stand Barba and would love for an excuse to kick her off, I get the impression she wasn't paid for her photos.

From what I remember, Frenchie did some lingerie photos for a website or catalog and that company sold them to a soft porn site later on. So they were actually posted on a porn site even though that wasn't what Frenchie thought she was doing. I also could have sworn we saw some of the photos back then too.

Anyway, this isn't a race issue. Frenchie was paid to pose for photos, Antonella wasn't. If Antonella was making money for them, kick her off.

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Steve, please see above...

"Frenchie is currently starring in Rent on Broadway,"

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Race may have been a factor, but it seems to me that the difference lies in the fact that Antonella is thin and Frenchie is not. Idol voters certainly embraced Ruben's singing despite (or perhaps in addition to) his weight, dubbing him the "velvet teddybear", but mark my words, a zaftig woman like Frenchie, Jennifer, or Mandisa will never be the last Idol standing.

What concerns me is that, while Antonella and seemingly all of her myspace generation peers take racy pictures for no other reason than than to stroke their exhibitionist, "me" culture egos, a woman like Frenchie, who, let's remember, freely disclosed her actions, was eliminated for taking pictures to make money for a college education. The fact that she's been largely villified in these comments for daring to make money, to support herself, for publishing images of her own body while Antonella has been largely excused for her (to my mind, at least) attention seeking behavior reveals a striking double standard that has less to do with race than with gender, weight, and power.

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I think another factor is that Idol may have thought of themselves as a family show 4 years ago and didn't want to alienate or offend any segment of audience while the show was in a more formative state.

Today, Idol is a ratings/demo juggernaut, the #1 US show and a ubiquitous product brand. It has way more credit with the audience and can certainly take more "risks" regardless of the thin vs. plus-size, racy leaked vs. paid topless, shrill pretender vs. legit contender or racial backdrop of this situation. Barring a vote-fixing scandal, any minor controversy seems to add to the appeal and audience of this show.

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Aaaaaaand Frenchie just lost my support. I refuse to acknowledge anyone who falsely plays the race card or allows it to be played on their behalf.

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From a techie point of view, the perception of the Internet has changed s lot in 4 years. It seems a lot less of a big deal then it did at that time, when the Paris Hilton vid was still fairly recent news, and celebs were suing left right and centre to stop any nipple shots reaching my eyes. Ahem, the public's eyes I mean.
I just think it's less big of a deal now.

And way to go, pulling the race card out of the air. What could have been a reasonable rational argument concerning the double-standards of American Idol now looks silly, pathetic, and racist. As another psoter put it, where's she been slking for four years?

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p.s. agree with Jade too. Frenchie was paying for education etc.

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Bah. Stuff like this only hurts the anti-racism movement. It's not fair, but I don't see how this is racist?

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#8 - Oh, Steve? If you read the story, you'd see that Frenchie is starring in Rent... on Broadway. That info is in the next-to-the-last paragraph of the story.

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