My thoughts on David H.

Brenna here, with a few words concerning David Hernandez and this year’s requisite Idol Scandal. The man was a stripper. So what. So were Nikki McKibbin and Antonella Barba (though I doubt she ever got paid for her services). Diablo Cody just won an Oscar – strippers are hot! So why the uproar?

Ever since the Frenchie debacle of season 2 (back when Idol was oh so innocent…), the morals of these contestants has been questioned and analyzed. Andy Warhol may have been right, that we’d all get our 15 minutes of fame, but even he couldn’t have wagered that it would come at such a price. No one (not even David Archuleta) is perfect. Everyone has skeletons in the closet. Some are worse than others, but everyone makes mistakes. So when I see the headline “Why American Idol Let David Hernandez Stay” I get a little annoyed.

Why not let him stay? I still have never been able to figure out why Frenchie got the boot. Girl was Talented with a capital T. She eventually got the last laugh as she went on to perform on Broadway, but who’s to know what could have become of her on Idol? (Maybe we could have been spared “Sorry 2004.”)

So the guy took off his clothes and danced for some other guys. Are people that concerned because of this country’s continued homophobia? Do people really care if these contestants are role models? They’re on our TV screen for a few months in the spring, and most of them vanish into oblivion after that. Trust me when I say the David Hernandezes and Amanda Overmyers of the world are probably tame for your kids to watch compared with the debacles we see everyday in the tabloids – the Britneys, the Lindsays, the Parises.

So let’s keep in mind what this show is – the largest talent show the country has ever seen – and nothing more than that. Leave the snide criticism to Simon.