'American Idol' contestant may be axed over cheesy pictures

'American Idol' contestant may be axed over cheesy pictures
In December 2006, former Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees was stripped off her title after racy pictures starring her in a Florida nightclub made appearances on the Web. Now, a similar fate might be awaiting American Idol's season six semifinalist Antonella Barba for a similar occurrence.

The 20-year-old New Jersey contestant might get the axe from the career-launching talent contest for cheesy photographs of her doing the rounds on the Internet. The photographs show the contestant topless and in several states of undress, indulging in sexual acts and consuming alcohol. Some of the pictures have been clicked on a beach and show Barba topless wearing a bikini panty, while one of the photos shows her sitting on a toilet bowl without her underwear. In another, she is sticking up her middle finger.

Though Fox, the network that airs the cult-following reality series, has kept mum on the issue so far, it has earlier ousted contestants for shady pasts. Given its history, Barba's ouster will come as little surprise. Through its spokesperson, the channel, however, refused to comment on the photos or allow its contestants to do so. But American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe was quoted by media reports as saying that he had not yet seen the photographs.

“We have really good background checks on everybody and we deal with that every season. It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to (the exposé Web site) The Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the Web?” he said to an entertainment site.

Barba's popularity isn't exactly soaring on American Idol. She has the dubious honor of being the favorite of the Vote For The Worst movement to find the least liked contestant. The site, www.votefortheworst.com, went a step further and added the contestant's face to other pictures, one with Mother Teresa, ridiculing the development. A link has also been given to a site that has published pictures showing a woman, allegedly Barba, indulging in oral sex.

To her misfortune, the singer didn't win any brownie points from judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson either. Though Abdul politely brushed aside her cover of Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing with a 'not bad', Jackson felt it was 'bland' while Cowell, the sharpest-tongued of the three judges, painted a bleak picture of her making it to the next round. But make it she did, managing to stay above contestant Marisa Rhodes to enter the Top 20 semifinals round.

The new development, however, just might give Rhodes a chance to make a comeback to the show. Not that Rhodes is holding her breath. “…I don't think it's going to happen. I'm just not getting my hopes up with that show anymore,” the 22-year-old crooner was quoted as saying.

Earlier, a number of contestants have got the boot from American Idol over past mistakes. In February 2003, a season two contestant Frenchie Davis was disqualified from the show after indecent pictures featuring her appeared on various Web sites. A similar fate presented itself to semifinalist Jaered Andrews, who was booted out of the contest due to an assault case. Another aspirant, Corey Clark, was asked to leave when it came to light that he was facing investigations in a battery case.

However, there might have been some respite for Barba if she had come clean about the pictures herself. Several contestants who told the show's producers early on about past mistakes survived the axe. This includes Trenyce Cobbins, who has a shoplifting history, Scott Savol and Bo Bice, arrested for disorderly conduct and narcotics possession, respectively, and even last season's celebrated winner Taylor Hicks, who has an arrest record for possession of marijuana.