TVSquad

We reported last week that the Lifetime biopic on American Idol contestant Fantasia Barrino shows that the producers of the hit reality show actually pushed Barrino to quit the show after news of the baby she had as a teen and her educational background came out. Now a producer of the show calls the allegation "absolutely and totally untrue."

Ken Warwick tells the NY Post that they knew all about Fantasia's background from the very first day she was on the show, and they never asked her to quit. He calls it a "complete fabrication."

It's interesting because not only is this scene in the movie, it's the opening scene, and serves as a jumping off point for the rest of the movie and is shown again at the end, to frame the pic. It's also interesting because the movie uses actual footage from the show, including her audition, her performances, and the reactions of Simon, Paula, and Randy. So Idol must have OK'd the film.

Hmmm...

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls, whose velvety voice earned him legions of fans, died today of cancer at the age of 72. Rawls was born in Chicago and raised by his grandmother. He started honing his voice at age seven in a Baptist church choir.

 Rawls got his start as a gospel singer, then later transitioned to more secular music, selling over 40 million copies of his 60-plus albums and winning four Grammys . In addition to his long career as a singer, Rawls also appeared in over a dozen films and 16 television series, including Fantasy Island and Fall Guy, and voiceovers for children's cartoons (among other roles, he was the voice of Harvey on Hey, Arnold!) . Rawls was also a humanitarian; he was well known as a huge supporter of the United Negro College Fund, and performed at the fund's telethon last year.