TV Crunch

Frenchie Davis Calls Idol’s Reaction To Antonella Barba A Racist “Double Standard”

2

March 5th, 2007 by Castina

Tagged as: American Idol, Antonella Barba


“American Idol” fans might recall four years ago, on Season II of the show, when Franchelle “Frenchie” Davis was disqualified from the show for appearing topless in photos on the Internet. But the “American Idol” producers announced last week that current finalist Antonella Barba will stick around, despite much naughtier flicks, featuring her thong-clad ass on a veteran’s memorial.

The show has been quite quiet about the Barba brouhaha as well as Antonella herself, but Frenchie Davis has a few things to say”

“I had stopped watching ‘American Idol’,” Davis admitted, “and I’ve tried to avoid even speaking about or thinking about what happened four years ago. But I couldn’t help but overhear what was happening with Antonella. I couldn’t help but notice the manner in which she was dealt with was the complete opposite of how I was dealt with.”

Another difference in the situations is that Davis actually told the producers about her, well, indiscretions beforehand.

“When I first discovered that I had made it to Hollywood and found out I would be competing to get into the top 30 and then later in the top 12, they had given us all this paperwork to fill out, background checks and that whole thing. So when we were doing that I had a discussion with some members of the production staff and I exposed to them a piece of my past; that when I was 19 years old, I took some pictures and that’s not the person I am [anymore]. I wanted to be upfront about it. We talked about it and then nothing happened,” she said.

“They had decided that because ‘American Idol’ was a family show, that they could not have me on the show because of the pictures I had taken – though they had never seen the pictures,” she recalled.

“I gave them the benefit of the doubt,” Davis said, resolved during the incident. “And when I learned that pictures had surfaced of this young lady, I didn’t really think anything of it. But when it came out that they had decided they were not going to kick her off the show, that – to say the least – raised an eyebrow.”

There’s several scenerios that suggest there’s a double standard here:

Frenchie’s photos, while topless, were modeling lingerie, Davis is plus size, Antonella’s were flicks that the aspiring singer’s BFF claims were taken for her BF. A.B is thin; and then there’s the fact that Frenchie is black, and Antonella is white.

Project Islamic Hope activist Najee Ali has taken up the singer’s cause and organized an “Anti ‘American Idol’ Rally” in support of Davis.

“We feel a coalition of leaders [should] meet with Fox and ‘American Idol’ producers to set some guidelines down because they can’t have a rule for white contestants and have different rule for black contestants,” Ali said. “It’s obvious that it’s a racial bias … when you have a situation where a black contestant is punished and a similar situation happens to a white contestant and there is no punishment and they’re allowed to continue on the show.”

The rally and press conference will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, at 11 am in front of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood where the show is broadcast. Ali will be joined by season one “Idol” producer Tarvenia Jones, Davis (via phone), and Davis’ manager Belinda Foster.

Just as Davis went on with her life after being booted from the show, she says that while she will speak out on the issue, she will continue to pursue her goals.

“This is my career and this is what I want to do long term,” she said. “I’m certainly not interested in pissing people off, but this is an unfairness that can’t’ be ignored.”

What's Hot at PopCrunch?




2 Comments, add yours

Related Articles:

2 Responses to “Frenchie Davis Calls Idol’s Reaction To Antonella Barba A Racist “Double Standard””

  1. On March 5th 2007, BMurdoch wrote:

    One word describes the difference….. PAYCHECK.

    Frenchie collected a paycheck to pose in lingerie. Antonella’s photos were either stolen from her PC at school (they were only meant for her boyfriend – the American Beauty-esque rose petal photos and the WWII Memorial photos), entirely fabricated (the Xrated photos proven to not be her), or leaked by “friends” (the camera phone shots over the top of the bathroom stall).

    NEVER did she sign a model release form and cash a check to pose suggestively. Guilty of trusting schoolmates or friends, yes…. Moral turpitude, no…..

  2. On March 8th 2007, jillian wrote:

    I don’t think modeling topless as a teenager to pay your college tuition is morally vile, bmurdock – infact, that’s ridiculous. what’s more, if idol’s issue with frenchie’s photos was about money they would have never let her compete in the first place. she has said many times that she disclosed the existance and nature of these photos to the idol producers before she even made it to the top 32. nigel has corroborated this fact. so your theory is clearly incorrect. frenchie wasn’t kicked off idol until someone from the media contacted idol to tell them the photos were going to be leaked. to this day I think someone who knew frenchie made that call because either they disliked her, wanted their 15 minutes, or wanted to try to sell the story called the media. to this day those photos have never been leaked at all.

    now I’m not going to call antonella a slut, nor question her morals…that’s not really MY place. but suggestive photos are suggestive photos. I’m willing to bet that if frenchie’s photos were meant to be kept “private”, she still would have been kicked off.

What do you think?

comment policy