ARTS & EVENTS

Idol Chatter: Indecent Exposure?

Express' Greg Barber reacts to the latest "American Idol" news.

2008-03-04-idolhernandez2.jpgYOU KNOW HOW the topic of the videotaped intro interviews played last week before each contestant performed was "Tell us something America doesn't know about you?"

David Hernandez had a hum-dinger up his sleeve.

The 24-year-old "Idol" hopeful worked as a stripper at a nightspot called Dick's Cabaret for three years, "appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club's 'mostly male' clientele," club manager Gordy Bryan told the Associated Press on Monday. His last day there was Sept. 30, 2007, Bryan said.

The rumors were first posted by the eagle-eyes of the folks at VoteForTheWorst.com. (Read the AP's full story here.)

According to the AP, there's been no word from Fox whether Hernandez's clothing-optional past will get him the boot. It's a question mark for sure, since "Idol" has an uneven history on the topic. In 2003, as many remember, finalist Frenchie Davis was canned after the suits learned that she'd appeared on an adult Web site. But naughty pics on the Web didn't sink Antonella Barba last year.

For the record, I think it would be ridiculous if, just scant days after stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody won an Oscar, "Idol" were to dismiss a promising young talent just because of the ways in which he'd decided to use said talent in the past.

There have been no allegations that laws were broken. And if anyone wants to suggest that previous work that some consider naughty would keep someone from being embraced by the public at large, they should talk to the wordsmithy Ms. Cody. Or Marilyn Monroe, who, if she wasn't dead, would remind you that nude photos of her, taken before she became famous, were published in Playboy just as her star was rising to its highest heights. In 1953, for crying out loud. And she seemed to do all right.

This revelation does, however, leave us with a trove of unanswered questions: What will "Idol" do? Will Hernandez respond? Did he think nobody would find out about his strippin' past? Or did it not bother him if anyone did?

But there's one question you, gentle readers, can answer right away: What do you think "Idol" should do?

» WANT MORE on "American Idol"? Read a preview for this week and recaps of past shows at readexpress.com/idol.

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COMMENTS (6)

  • No question that they should KEEP David. He's great and stripping for a living isn't a crime by any means. How about the past of Vanessa Williams? Remember the nude pix of her in Penthouse... She resigned as Miss America because of them but it didn't stall her career for long. I'm sure there are others too.

    By Sue , Posted March 4, 2008 12:32 PM

  • They should definitely keep him. The only reason Frenchie got axed was (I think) because the pics were advertised as underaged, even though she was 18.

    I'm sure he disclosed it to Idol and assumed it would come out (ahem) eventually. Maybe he thought the...uh...exposure would be good for him? Maybe a shot at fame was worth it? Whatever the reason, it seems like the big scandals are always revealed at this point in the competition, so maybe it's just the standard timing for the news to break.

    By EOC , Posted March 4, 2008 12:41 PM

  • Isn't this about "America voting?!" Idol shouldn't do anything. If the public wants him gone-- he'll be gone, don't turn it into something "political" when it's about talent and popularity. The votes will tell the tale...

    By Jeff , Posted March 4, 2008 12:41 PM

  • Why not let America be the judge. He will lose some votes over this most likely.

    By virginia , Posted March 4, 2008 12:46 PM

  • It looks like we all agree! So far, at least.

    Sue makes a good point about Vanessa Williams. The nude pictures cost her her crown, but she's certainly still in the limelight.

    And EOC might be right, too -- maybe he thought that having this information come out could help further his career. It'll certainly help him stand out from the crowd. There's Brooke White, who's never seen an R-rated movie, and then there's him.

    Does anybody out there think "Idol" should can him?

    By Greg Barber , Posted March 4, 2008 2:11 PM

  • Update: Word on the street (if you call the AP "the street") is that David's staying. Read more here.

    By Greg Barber , Posted March 4, 2008 5:29 PM
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