Antonella Barba fully-clothed
The Internet strikes again.
The immediacy and the speed with which information spreads really is astounding.
The latest victim of the new media is Antonella Barba, a contestant on American Idol.
From her page on the Idol website:
Q: What other talents do you have?
Barba: Violin, piano
Q: Most embarrassing moments?
Barba: Saying the wrong things before I think
I think Barba might need to revise those answers.
LOS ANGELES -- The Internet was abuzz Friday over a series of racy photos linked to an "American Idol" contestant. The pictures, posted on several Web sites, included one with four women posing topless at the beach, their hands covering their breasts, and others with a woman engaged in a sex act.
The anonymous postings alleged that Antonella Barba, 20, of Point Pleasant, N.J., was depicted in the photos and didn't indicate how they were obtained.
Alex Gillespie, a Fox publicist in New York for the top-rated show, said the network would have no comment on the incident or whether it might affect Barba's participation in the contest.
Gillespie said the network is not making any of the contestants available to speak to the media.
...Nigel Lythgoe, an "American Idol" producer, was quoted on Entertainment Weekly's Web site on Friday as saying he was unaware of the photographs.
"We have really good background checks on everybody, and we deal with that every season," he told EW.com. "It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the Web?"
Interested in seeing the photos?
Here's more photos alleged to be Barba.
It is sad that her "best friends" were willing to post these compromising photos of Barba on the Internet.
I wouldn't call them friends.
However, much sadder than the betrayal by these so-called friends is the fact that Barba engaged in the behavior depicted in the photos.
Quite literally, she blew it.
American Idol has a precedent to follow. Other contestants have been forced off the show for behavior that its producers deemed inappropriate.
I don't see how Barba can be allowed to remain if it's determined that the most sexually graphic photos are actually of her. It would be inconsistent with the treatment that other contestants received.
I suppose Barba could spend a day or two in "poor judgment" rehab. She could blame an addiction. Maybe Donald Trump could intervene and make things all better.
But in the final analysis, the show must uphold the standards it has set.
Actually, I don't see Antonella Barba as a victim of the Internet or disloyal "friends."
She made poor choices and those choices have consequences.
____________________________
Update:
What are the consequences for Barba? Other than being publicly humiliated and getting an incredible amount of attention, NONE.
If the ones responsible for releasing the photos hoped to destroy her chances to remain on the show, they made a gross miscalculation.
American Idol producers are going to support her. Why? Ratings. Money.
Barba's popularity has skyrocketed. She has a new audience of admirers.
As long as she stays on the show, American Idol will be attracting a new demographic -- the cramped hand demo. Yes, the producers have decided to reap the benefits of the sleazy photos.
In my opinion, it's creepy and reflects poorly on the show.
I wonder how the show's producers would have reacted if sexually explicit photos of a male contestant surfaced. Would they be as forgiving in that case?
I'm not sure what the lesson here really is.
I guess if you want to be famous, Barba is a role model.
____________________________
I'm surprised it took this long for someone to bring up the issue of race when comparing how American Idol treated Frenchie Davis versus how Antonella Barba has been given a pass.
LOS ANGELES -- Frenchie Davis, dumped by "American Idol" in 2003 for lingerie shots posted on a Web site, moved on to Broadway success and thought she had buried a humiliating chapter of her young life.
That changed in the last few days after contestant Antonella Barba was allowed to stay on the top-rated Fox series despite the emergence of racy online photos that purport to be of Barba, but with no verification.
The first big controversy of the show's sixth season swelled Tuesday when fans and a civil-rights activist rallied to Davis' side, saying she was the victim of unfair and potentially biased treatment. Davis is black; Barba is white.
"We object to having one rule for black contestants and a different rule for white contestants who exhibit the same behavior," said Najee Ali, community activist and founder of Project Islamic H.O.P.E.
Davis said she is bewildered over what's happened with Barba, 20, of Point Pleasant, N.J.
"I don't necessarily think that (it's racism), but I can certainly look at this and understand why people would draw that conclusion," Davis said Tuesday from New York, hours before going on stage in the musical "Rent."
"I'm not bashing `Idol' or Antonella. She's a beautiful girl and she's young. I think it's great that she didn't have to go through what I went through," said Davis, 27, who suggested that the show's producers might have learned from how they treated her.
Davis would welcome a public apology from them as "a great start." But she said she is owed more for "the manner in which I was humiliated and the manner in which Antonella was defended and protected by the same people who humiliated me."
"Now they need to come to the table and see what we can do to make up" for her treatment, Davis said. She declined to say if she would seek a financial settlement or a record contract or other deal.
Belinda Foster, Davis' manager, took part in a small protest Tuesday with Ali outside the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles where "American Idol" tapes. She said there are stark differences in the treatment of the two contestants.
..."`American Idol' has first and foremost proclaimed it is a family show. ... No matter who made the photos public, it still speaks to her moral character and integrity, and certainly her silence speaks for itself," he said.
A fan group lead by Chris Tian, a singer-songwriter in Portsmouth, N.H., is calling on Fox to give Davis another shot at competing on "Idol."
Where's Jesse Jackson?
9 comments:
Yes I agree, Barbara have been very nasty in her past. I guess she just does not deserve to be an idol of millions and millions of teens. She will be kicked.
Thank you for sharing this story with me !
Based on her singing ability, she doesn't deserve to be an idol of millions. I don't think Barba should have made it as far as she has on the show.
I think she was included in the top 24 because of her looks. It can't be her voice.
It will be interesting to see if American Idol remains consistent with its own standards and gets rid of her.
Antonella has a personality anyone could die for. I think she needs this competition. I am 16 years old and i admire her. Yes she may have made mistakes but that was before idol. Look at katherine mcphee and all the slutty images of her. And hers are from after idol. She deserves a shot like anybody else. She has to be a good singer to get by simon. She deserves this so please get over it. She is and needs to be treated as equal as any one else on the show. If she gets kicked off because of this i will be upset. and many other people will to. People should leave her alone she is trying to make her dream come true and she is doing a darn good job. Give her the chance she deserves. Dont judge someone by their cover. Especially her.she is a beautiful girl and she has a talent that has not skyrocketed yet. Lets help and watch her improve to the top 12. Thank you!!!
I don't think you have to worry about Barba being kicked off the show.
It's all about ratings, meaning money.
American Idol producers aren't about to get rid of her. They would have made a move by now if they intended to take her off the show.
And I'm sure she's guaranteed to get a lot of votes in spite of her singing.
Actually, she's got exactly what it takes to be a celebrity.
Pretty sad.
Well after looking at the pictures a couple of times, just to be sure if it was her or not, you can really tell from the neck down that this is obviously NOT Antonella on the "sex-related" pictures. A very good look alike, yes. I dont like her singing, but I wouldnt throw her out just yet, because those literal pictures are obvoiusoly not hers. As for the other racier pictures, like the wet tshirts, and the hands on breast picture, well you be the judge of what is going too far and what isnt.
The only way that Barba is going to be kicked off the show is for her to be voted off.
The judges thought that she should have been gone, reminding the audience that it's a singing contest.
It was a real slap at Barba. She doesn't have a future as a singer.
I also blog about American Idol, and study the gender and queer representation issues on the show in my blog, “Idol”-ology: Gender and Reality Television. Go check it out, I would appreciate any comments :)
You make some good points here about how Barba is being treated in comparison to Frenchie Davis and how she would be treated if she were male, but I think you need to delve further into this analysis. There are deeper issues at work here, which are pretty easy to see once you look at all of the past contestants who had “sketchy” pasts and whether or not they were kicked off of American Idol. Corey Clark was booted for past charges of battery and resisting arrest, Jaered Andrews for involuntary manslaughter, and Frenchie Davis for posing nude on an adult website. However, contestant Scott Savol was allowed to remain on the show even after charges of domestic violence, supposedly because he was “honest and repentant” about the incident.
Since all of the men in question were kicked off or questioned for violent reasons, but the women are criticized solely on supposedly flaunting their sexuality, American Idol is continuing to perpetuate the stereotypes of acceptable masculinity and femininity in today’s society. Men are supposed to be the more aggressive sex, while women are supposed to be weak and demure and if they deviate from this, they will be punished. Especially in Scott Savol’s case, American Idol sends the message that even domestic violence is acceptable for a man to commit, as long as he is “sorry” for it later on. Does this mean that the women who could potentially get kicked off for displaying their sexuality would be allowed to continue in the competition so long as they “apologize” for it? Why should women be regretful for being able to express themselves sexually? This is simply “not acceptable” behavior in the eyes of the American Idol producers...especially if the contestant is a larger Black woman as opposed to a thin, beautiful, and young White one. Antonella Barba has not been asked to repent for her alleged sexual photos...this shows race, age, and appearance discrimination at their best.
-Amanda
Antonella Barba is white? Id have to see a DNA test to believe that.
Now that the media wants to play the race card, I am sure she will be branded "white", but there is no way here background is wholely white European. Of course that wont matter. When the race card gets played, anyone even remotely "white" becomes just white. Of course when things are good, that doesnt count (ie - Halley Berry being half white never seems to come up)
If some actually white girl were given preferenial treatment, for one reason or another, over Antonella, I GUARANTEE people would yell "racism".
The real reason is obviously what was pointed out in the blog entry. She's hot, the photos were nasty, and as a result, ratings have soared.
Interesting comments, Amanda.
I suppose American Idol is sort of a microcosm for the sort of gender and racial issues that we deal with in American society at large.
There are a lot of inequities.
Now that Barba has been voted off the show, the matter is settled.
The question that remains, however, is whether there is a consistent set of rules for contestants applied across the board in a fair manner.
It appears to me that there are inconsistencies.
I think the motivation behind Idol's decisions is ratings, pure and simple.
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