“American Idol” has been sued a lot of times before, albeit the lawsuits it faced don’t considerably amount to around a million or so. However, entertainment website TMZ.com reported recently that the TV show is facing another lawsuit filed by 10 of its former contestants from various seasons, all of whom are African-Americans.
Apparently, they are claiming that they were eliminated from the singing competition due to a racist ratings scheme, in which, according to TMZ, they were “unjustly booted because of their race.” Aside from the plaintiffs seeking to force “Idol” to adopt new anti-racism regulations, all of the plaintiffs are each seeking $25 million in damages.
In the TMZ’s article dated July 24, the ten former “Idol” contestants “have accused producers of conducting a ‘cruel and inhuman’ scheme to exploit them for ratings by illegally digging up their arrest histories and using the records to humiliate them on national TV.” The legal representative of the plaintiffs, New York attorney James H. Freeman, claimed that it starts as early as the background checks wherein producers will ask “Idol” hopefuls if they had ever been arrested.
Per TMZ, the attorney even claimed that African-American contestants were the only ones to be probed about their alleged criminal past and not white people. Moreover, he emphasized that since his clients are applying for “employment” with the TV show, they are not allowed to ask about their arrest histories and other confidential details during background checks. He claimed that what “Idol” did was in violation of the California employment laws.
For many people, such lawsuits filed against the decade-long TV show are based on various individuals trying to make fast money. They also believe that the “American Idol” is hardly racist at all, since there have been African-American contestants who have been included in the competition in its 12 seasons. But then, whether or not this lawsuit against the show will go the distance remains to be seen.
Incidentally, expert lawyers, including an experienced Los Angeles discrimination attorney, assert that discrimination in employment on the basis of race is illegal under federal and California laws and statutes.
Apparently, they are claiming that they were eliminated from the singing competition due to a racist ratings scheme, in which, according to TMZ, they were “unjustly booted because of their race.” Aside from the plaintiffs seeking to force “Idol” to adopt new anti-racism regulations, all of the plaintiffs are each seeking $25 million in damages.
In the TMZ’s article dated July 24, the ten former “Idol” contestants “have accused producers of conducting a ‘cruel and inhuman’ scheme to exploit them for ratings by illegally digging up their arrest histories and using the records to humiliate them on national TV.” The legal representative of the plaintiffs, New York attorney James H. Freeman, claimed that it starts as early as the background checks wherein producers will ask “Idol” hopefuls if they had ever been arrested.
Per TMZ, the attorney even claimed that African-American contestants were the only ones to be probed about their alleged criminal past and not white people. Moreover, he emphasized that since his clients are applying for “employment” with the TV show, they are not allowed to ask about their arrest histories and other confidential details during background checks. He claimed that what “Idol” did was in violation of the California employment laws.
For many people, such lawsuits filed against the decade-long TV show are based on various individuals trying to make fast money. They also believe that the “American Idol” is hardly racist at all, since there have been African-American contestants who have been included in the competition in its 12 seasons. But then, whether or not this lawsuit against the show will go the distance remains to be seen.
Incidentally, expert lawyers, including an experienced Los Angeles discrimination attorney, assert that discrimination in employment on the basis of race is illegal under federal and California laws and statutes.
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