Nigel Lythgoe Barks Back: Bad Rosie... Bad Rosie!

2005 American Idol Carrie Underwood will perform her new hit "Wasted" on FOX's reality show tonight and the top-12 finalists will be revealed. A tedious backstage catfight may however take away some of the spotlight.

Following Rosie O'Donnell's comments on Tuesday's edition of ABC's daytime talker "The View", the executive producer Nigel Lythgoe responded to the host's comments after she accused "American Idol" of double standards in the Frenchie/Antonella affair.

"Without wishing to add to the obvious self-promotion of Ms. O'Donnell, I feel as though I must refute her absurd and ridiculous claims that American Idol is racist and/or weightist. Ms. O'Donnell has, once again, spoken without thought or knowledge. Viewers need only look at the show tonight to realize that American Idol constantly confirms to America that talent has nothing to do with weight or color."

Lythgoe of course failed to explain why Antonella Barba whose trashy pictures recently popped up all over the Internet remained a contestant on the show despite the fact that season 2 semifinalist Frenchie Davis was disqualified after the nude pictures she posed for at the age of 18 emerged.

Die-hard fans of the competition would of course argue that Davis was paid for her images which appeared on a porn site, whereas Barba was simply the victim of her personal photos being published in the media without her consent.

TMZ.com has meanwhile reported that "Idol" is further retaliating against Rosie and "The View" by forbidding the talk show from airing clips the reality show.

Finally, the notorious judge Simon Cowell gave the fun-loving contestant Antonella Barba last night bode of confidence when he said: "I feel for you because you've taken a lot of stick in the media, and you've handled yourself well. I don't think anyone should be thrown into that situation."

He concluded: "I just wish you could sing better."

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