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Barba treated differently, ex-‘Idol’ Frenchie says

Singer booted over porn images wonders why current contestant remains

Frenchie Davis
Brad Barket / Getty Images file
Though Antonella Barba's topless photos were apparently not meant for the public, Frenchie Davis, left, still wonders why her own racy photos prompted her exit on ‘American Idol.’
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Access Hollywood
updated 7:27 p.m. ET March 6, 2007

NEW YORK - “American Idol” producers dumped Frenchie Davis in Season Two, despite her being an odds-on favorite to win, after her online porn past came to light.

On Tuesday, Frenchie had plenty to say to “Access Hollywood’s” Tim Vincent about this year’s scandal-clad contestant, Antonella Barba, sticking around.

“I’m giving ‘Idol’ the benefit of the doubt, but I think I deserve an explanation other than, ‘You were paid and she wasn’t,’ because that may be acceptable for some people, but it’s an unacceptable explanation for me,” a fired-up Frenchie told Tim.

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Davis wants answers to why she was booted from “Idol” for posing topless for an adult Web site while Antonella has kept her place on the show, even though racy photos of her have shown up all over the Internet.

“The photos that were taken that have been in the press were stolen from a private collection and they weren’t something that she was paid for in a professional sense,” Tim noted. “They were never to be seen by the public.”

“I understand that, but they were seen by the public, whereas mine were not necessarily. There were people to this day that say they haven’t seen my pictures,” Frenchie contends.

She said her ultimate goal is to have a sit-down with the “Idol” producers.

“If the rules have changed, then what are we going to do to make up for the fact that I was humiliated needlessly?” Frenchie asked.

This morning, Frenchie’s manager, as well as civil rights activist Najee Ali, held a news conference charging that racism could be a factor.

“What do you think about people commenting it’s a racist thing? Even Rosie commented on ‘The View’ about it being racist,” Tim said.

“It’s arguable. So I can certainly understand why people would jump to that conclusion, and I’m giving ‘Idol’ the benefit of the doubt and not jumping to that conclusion,” Davis added.

Copyright 2009 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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