Ex-"American Idol" Contestant Says Show Is Rigged

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 07.30.2009

"Do you think a billion-dollar enterprise is subject to the whim of the public?"

Some of the semi-finalists from "American Idol" season 8 participated in a live chat via AI LIVE the other day. Ex-contestant Ju'Not Joyner shocked fans by calling the show rigged, and saying its contracts are unfair to contestants.

"It's a fixed thing if I ever saw one," he said. Joyner said he was labeled a troublemaker by producers after questioning his contract, or "slavetract" as he called it. Joyner claims producer Kevin Warwick told him "You're not going to ruin my show." Joyner claims he was not brought back for the wild card round because of this.

Joyner said he wanted to tell the "truth of Idol" because "Idol ain't all it is cracked up to be...It's certainly not the fairytale most think it is."

"They pay for our lawyers to negotiate against their lawyer (which is BS)," he said. "They make us COLLECTIVELY choose the lawyer, then they act like it's in our best interest. Craziest stuff I've ever seen. I have a son to feed. I HAD to ask questions and know what I was signing. Plus I write my own songs and I needed to know details...Some folks were like, 'Just shut up and sign on the dotted line.' I know better than that...I wasn't complaining...I was asking basic legal questions. There's a huge difference between the two."

He continued: "I definitely believed that affected my time on the show. They didn't like the fact that I wouldn't sign 'just anything' and that other contestants were coming asking me questions. So I think they ousted me the first chance they could get...Even if I didn't get in on votes...how did I not get picked for the Wild Card show when I received comments from the 'judges' that were better than most of the contestants who were picked for the Wild Card show?"

Joyner also claims producers were upset that he wouldn't let the show capitalize on his back story of being from the streets. "They wanted me to put that out to the world and expose my personal business for ratings. I wouldn't do it."

Joyner also commented on the winner of this last season. "The producers know who they want and they slant it to reflect that. They fix it in a way that makes you surprised but it's still manipulated," he typed. "Think about it...ADAM, ADAM, ADAM, then...Kris....SURPRISE SMITHCHES!!!!

"What I mean is that people think AI is a talent show," he elaborated. "No. It's a reality show with writers!! We're all actors. All these shows have writers that guide the public opinion. The Hills, Real World. All of them...Do you think a billion-dollar enterprise is subject to the whim of the public?"

"No one else is complaining because a lot of the contestants don't understand how this business works. They've never had record deals or seen a record contract...I have. So I knew what questions to ask. It's kinda like ignorance is bliss. Some contestants may have thought it was just cool to be on TV, but this is my career. I take this thing VERY seriously...Very few people spoke up. They saw me as the ringleader. I'm not naming names. Because I have nothing against the other Idols."

Joyner is self-releasing a new album this winter.

Credit: Yahoo