Former Contestant Claims American Idol is Rigged

The beauty of reality television is that it only "seems real" while we’re watching it. Of course, professional wrestling also seems real and has been fooling people for decades. But everyone seems to be very surprised that Ju’Not Joyner has stated what should be pretty obvious – the producers of American Idol manipulate the show in such a way as to ensure maximum ratings, advertising dollars and viral buzz for the show. And there’s really nothing wrong with that.

It doesn’t make the show any less entertaining if the results are "rigged" – to one degree or another. It’s just the way television operates. Joyner said quite a bit in his online interview with Idol website AI Now, but perhaps his most concise support for his assertions that the show is controlled by the producers went like this, "Do you think a billion-dollar enterprise is subject to the whim of the public?"

That quote pretty much says it all. Why would the people behind American Idol trust their goldmine to the whims of people who feel it necessary to text or call in their votes for a televised talent show? If you stop to think about the absurdity of that notion, you will quickly come to the logical conclusion that American Idol is thoroughly controlled by the producers and people that understand how to create compelling television content. Without talented people working hard to ensure that Idol is a great show, it would be a colossal failure. It’s that simple.

Joyner also ranted about the contracts that contestants are virtually forced to sign, which are heavily tilted in favor of the show. To that we say again – of course they are. That’s not newsworthy. Idol puts people on national television who otherwise might be struggling to get air time at karaoke night at their local rec center. Joyner is correct in everything that he said with regards to heavy-handed contracts and producers controlling the outcome of American Idol – and we shouldn’t be surprised.