“American Idol” producers said Thursday they were skeptical of Corey Clark’s charges of favoritism and a sex affair with judge Paula Abdul, but were investigating the allegations, nonetheless.
“We are absolutely committed to the fairness of this competition,” the show’s producers said in a statement.
Clark, who has a recording deal and is selling a book on his “Idol” experience, made his allegations in an interview Wednesday on ABC’s “Primetime Live.”
He was a contestant in the 2003 edition of Fox’s “American Idol,” disqualified when producers learned he had been arrested in a domestic dispute and hadn’t disclosed it.
“We have concerns about the motives behind last night’s purported news special, as much of it was filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies,” producers said.
Clark said that Abdul coached him on song selection, bought him stage clothes, paid for hair styling and eventually initiated a sexual affair while he was a contestant in Season Two’s preliminary rounds.
Phone records, answering machine tapes, a bottle of prescription cough medicine in her name that he says she gave him and interviews with his parents bolstered Clark’s claims on “Primetime Live.”
“Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities, as well as contractual requirements for contestants to raise any concerns, we were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark or any other individual, nor presented any evidence concerning these claims,” said the statement from “Idol” producers, Fremantlemedia and 19 Entertainment, and the Fox network.
“Upon recently hearing rumors of Mr. Clark’s claims, we contacted him and requested that he detail his accusations to us. That has yet to happen.”
Clark said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday that he doesn’t intend to cooperate with the probe.
“I don’t have any interest in helping “American Idol’ out whatsoever, because they haven’t helped me out whatsoever,” Clark said. “They made it very hard for me to do what I’m doing, which is my career.”
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