Spring Break
'Idol' host shouldn't be blamed
Zach Wingerter
Issue date: 1/31/07 Section: Opinion
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"American Idol" host Simon Cowell's remarks have landed him in the news again, with some media arguing that his comments in season six of the show are "too mean."
The real cruelty isn't what Cowell and co-hosts Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul say - it's that the editors and producers choose the worst auditions out of thousands given and single those people out.
Viewers don't tune in to "American Idol" only to see people sing badly. That's probably 75 percent of the reason, but if Cowell didn't rip on the people and basically say what each viewer is thinking, "American Idol" wouldn't have the audience and success it has now.
Many people show up at auditions just to act stupid and try to get on television. Only a handful of people who make it into the audition room are berated by Cowell and the others without expecting it, and those are the people who get put on TV.
The bad singers are put on TV for two reasons, and people tune in for those two reasons: They are put there to be mocked and for us to feel better about ourselves. That is more cruel than anything Cowell has said.
What's worse is that two of this season's loveable losers, Kenneth Briggs and Jonathan Jayne (the bug-eyed boy who Cowell said resembled a monkey and the portly fellow who sang "God Bless America," respectively), have appeared on the "Today" show, "Access Hollywood" and as guest correspondents on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
If I was holding a serious competition for something and twit after twit gave purposely sub-par performances to try to get on TV instead of focusing on the task at hand, it would annoy me and I would probably react similarly to Cowell. There is no problem with Cowell doing his job and telling it like it is as a human instead of a politically-correct corporate machine.
As it turns out, Jayne is a Special Olympics participant. In response to cruelty allegations, the Special Olympics said in a statement on its Web site: "While polite isn't a word one would normally associate with Cowell and company, a viewing of the episode in question shows that the judges were in fact gracious and very encouraging to Jayne during his rendition of 'God Bless America.'"
The real cruelty isn't what Cowell and co-hosts Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul say - it's that the editors and producers choose the worst auditions out of thousands given and single those people out.
Viewers don't tune in to "American Idol" only to see people sing badly. That's probably 75 percent of the reason, but if Cowell didn't rip on the people and basically say what each viewer is thinking, "American Idol" wouldn't have the audience and success it has now.
Many people show up at auditions just to act stupid and try to get on television. Only a handful of people who make it into the audition room are berated by Cowell and the others without expecting it, and those are the people who get put on TV.
The bad singers are put on TV for two reasons, and people tune in for those two reasons: They are put there to be mocked and for us to feel better about ourselves. That is more cruel than anything Cowell has said.
What's worse is that two of this season's loveable losers, Kenneth Briggs and Jonathan Jayne (the bug-eyed boy who Cowell said resembled a monkey and the portly fellow who sang "God Bless America," respectively), have appeared on the "Today" show, "Access Hollywood" and as guest correspondents on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
If I was holding a serious competition for something and twit after twit gave purposely sub-par performances to try to get on TV instead of focusing on the task at hand, it would annoy me and I would probably react similarly to Cowell. There is no problem with Cowell doing his job and telling it like it is as a human instead of a politically-correct corporate machine.
As it turns out, Jayne is a Special Olympics participant. In response to cruelty allegations, the Special Olympics said in a statement on its Web site: "While polite isn't a word one would normally associate with Cowell and company, a viewing of the episode in question shows that the judges were in fact gracious and very encouraging to Jayne during his rendition of 'God Bless America.'"
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