File this one away under the category of, “You Can’t Make this S%#* Up.”
The EEOC has cleared the path for 10 former contestants of the show American Idol to sue the show’s producers for the discriminatory use of criminal background checks. The lawsuit alleges that 31 percent of ‘Idol’ semi-finalists who were black males were disqualified for reasons “unrelated to the singing talent” and that in the show’s 10 year run none of the non-black contestants were disqualified.
According to ABC News,
The plaintiffs, all of whom were disqualified from the show over six seasons for reasons other than singing — including criminal history — were recently issued notices of “right to sue” by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, allowing the 429-page lawsuit they filed in July to move forward.” (more…)