A New York federal judge has kicked out a discrimination lawsuit against American Idol filed by Idol hopeful and famewhore, Ian Bernardo. (Read the story at The Advocate)
Ian alleges that the show’s crew hurled gay insults at him and told him to “gay it up”, but the judge ruled against him because she felt Ian knew what he was in for.
“He, like everyone else with a modicum of talent (or less) who auditions for American Idol, chose to appear on a program that was famous for its judges insulting behavior toward the lame, the halt and the talentless, knowing full well what was coming—if only because he had experienced it before, ” Judge Colleen McMahon wrote. “Benardo went on air after being told what was expected of him, and he knew full well what to expect. Having volunteered to be insulted, he cannot now claim that he was sexually harassed.”
As far as being discriminated against because the show wanted to exploit his flamboyant behavior, the judge said:
“Ian Benardo is a man who describes himself as having a ‘non-conforming appearance based on gender stereotype’—which the court understands to mean that he appears to conform to a stereotype of an effeminate homosexual male, ” the judge wrote in her decision.
Suck it up Ian, the judge basically says:
“The audition show features performances of the individual contestants who win a place on Idol, and some who just miss the cut, but also a number of individuals who never had a realistic chance of being chosen—often persons with little or no talent, who are content on making fools out of themselves (or to allow others to make fools of them) in front of a national television audience. For the 2006-07 season, Benardo was apparently one of these.”
If the crew hurled gay insults at Ian, that’s completely wrong. But Ian was asking for a ridiculous amount of money. The whole deal came off as a grab for attention and money than a real attempt at justice.
