American Idol (season 2) - Controversy

Controversy

The finale vote had been controversial due to the smallness of the margin. Ryan Seacrest also added fuel by mistakenly announcing the difference in vote count first as 13,000, then 1,335, but eventually revealed later to be around 130,000. There was much discussion in the communication industry about the phone system being overloaded, and that more than 150 million votes were dropped, making the voting results suspect. In an interview prior to the start of the fifth season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wild card week onward until the finale.

A mini-controversy emerged after the finale when Simon Cowell alleged that Clay Aiken knew the results of the show nearly an hour before they were announced on-air because he had snuck a peek at Ryan Seacrest's handheld cue card backstage. On Larry King Live the next day, Aiken admitted he had indeed seen the card but could not read it in the backstage light; however, he had seen enough to determine that the name on it was too long to be "Clay Aiken". On the live broadcast, Aiken can be seen turning his body to face Studdard and whispering something in his ear right before the results were announced, a visual clue fans took as confirmation that Aiken had somehow found out he was not the winner.

There was controversy when contestant Frenchie Davis was disqualified from the competition after topless photos of her surfaced on the Internet. Shortly afterwards, she landed a role in the Broadway musical Rent.

Corey Clark was also disqualified from the show because, according to the Idol producers, Clark had a police record he had not disclosed to the show. However, in 2005, contestant Corey Clark alleged in an interview on ABC's Primetime Live and in a book, They Told Me to Tell the Truth, So... The Sex, Lies and Paulatics of One of America's Idols, that he and judge Paula Abdul had an affair while he was on the show and that this contributed to his removal. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show and tips on song choice. A subsequent investigation by an independent counsel hired by Fox "could not corroborate the evidence or allegations provided by Mr. Clark or any witnesses". Paula Abdul was therefore considered exonerated but an "enhanced non-fraternization policy" was put in place after the investigation.

Trenyce was also found to have been arrested on felony theft charge, however Nigel Lythgoe considered her offence to be minor and one which she has been honest about, therefore "warranted no concern regarding her participation in the show."

During the Top 10, a problem with the telephony system resulted in some votes not being registered for Julia DeMato, however, Fox insisted that the mistake would not have made any difference in Julia DeMato being voted off.

During the course of the contest, Studdard became known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing his area code; when asked about them early in the season, Studdard told Seacrest that he was "just representing 205". Shortly after the end of the contest, Studdard sued 205 Flava, Inc. for $2 Million dollars for using his image for promotional purposes. 205 Flava responded by alleging that Studdard had accepted over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and produced eight cashed checks to validate their claim. The allegations, if true, were a clear violation of the American Idol rules. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

Some questions were raised about the participation of Josh Gracin, who was then in the Marine Corps, in American idol during the time of the Iraq War. He later missed both the finale performance night as well as the Idol tour that year after being recalled to duty by the Marines.

Some speculation about Vanessa Olivarez' dismissal and treatment by American Idol surfaced in 2007. During the show, Olivarez took part in a scripted joke where, after Seacrest had asked Olivarez to read a cue card taking the viewers to a commercial, Olivarez would reply by saying, "Ryan, I'm a real artist, not a performing monkey like you, so why don't you read your own script?" However, viewers booed, and Olivarez was voted off afterwards, a result of what some thought to be negative public perception of her due to the joke. It was suggested that she was deliberately ousted because she had come out as a lesbian to other contestants. She had also posed nude for an ad campaign for the animal rights group PETA after she was voted off. Olivarez was the only finalist omitted from the Season 2 CD, and she was not chosen for the tour after Joshua Gracin was recalled to the Marines.