BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 28
Fox takes so seriously the allegation that "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul had sex with one of the contestants during the competition that the network has gone and put her on yet another reality series.
On the other hand, the network has hired Acme Independent Counsel to conduct a thorough investigation as to whether Abdul coached second-edition finalist Corey Clark on his performances and seduced him, as Clark claims, when he's not busy being arrested for getting into food fight with his manager at a hotel, or promoting the release of his new song "Paulatics," about that alleged affair.
"The credibility of that competition is extraordinarily important to us," Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori said Thursday at Summer TV Press Tour 2005. "We want to make sure there is a thorough investigation into what we've seen on ABC," he said, referring to the May "Primetime Live" report "Fallen Idol."
This independent counsel -- Liguori declined to name the person or firm -- was hired last month by the network and "Idol" producers to look into charges Clark made in an interview on the ABC newsmag about his relationship with Abdul.
The reality series, which will begin its fifth edition in January, is Fox's most important franchise. Airing two nights a week, it has transformed Fox into the most watched network among the young viewers whom advertisers pay the most to reach.
The investigation is "winding down," Liguori told critics, but it would not be rushed to be finished before tryouts for the next edition begin on Aug. 18.
Asked why it's taking so long, Liguori said the investigators were interviewing "corroborating witnesses."
"We want to make sure we're being thorough," he said, adding, "The credibility of this competition to us can never be underestimated."
"Are you saying that, given the importance of the credibility of 'American Idol,' Paula will be a judge on the show . . . if this investigation is not wrapped up by August?" asked one dumbfounded critic.
"We're in the television business," Liguori said, stating the obvious. "I don't think anyone should be held to a standard higher than the judicial system. At this point we have nothing that specifically says that she shouldn't be showing up for work."
That's also his thinking behind adding Abdul, who got her start as a choreographer, to Fox's dance competition series "So You Think You Can Dance," which debuted last week.
