Fox needs to come clean about Abdul

LOS ANGELES - Fox has a big problem with "American Idol," where allegations of inappropriate contact between judge Paula Abdul and a young contestant have damaged the credibility of primetime's top-rated show.

While ABC News' "Primetime Live: Fallen Idol" expose in May did not have much solid proof of all of contestant Corey Clark's allegations of a sexual relationship with Abdul, the phone records it produced showed that Abdul, one of only three "American Idol" judges, had frequent and extensive contact with Clark, a contestant on the program in 2003.

Whether other allegations also are proved -- such as Abdul's coaching the candidate, purchasing his clothes and carrying on an intimate affair -- the damage has been done. Under no circumstances should there be even the appearance of collusion between judge and candidate, and the phone records, all by themselves, leave no doubt that this occurred.

An honorable and ethical response to the situation requires a full, forthcoming investigation by Fox. Meanwhile, Abdul should have been removed from her position as judge pending the outcome. The name or names of the investigators should be made public as well as the findings. Anything less smacks of a cover-up and, at this point, the smacking is practically deafening.

Fox, perhaps hoping no one would remember, said at the time that it would look into the matter and then said nothing more. Maybe, just maybe, if the TV critics attending the Television Critics Association summer press tour didn't bring it up, the whole thing could be swept under the rug. Alas for Fox and to the credit of the critics, the subject came up throughout programing president Peter Liguori's news conference.

"We're addressing it as we speak," Liguori said during his executive Q&A session during Fox's portion of TCA last week, though there has been no announcement of any progress in the two months since the investigation began.

You can verify a phone bill statement in two days. You can talk to the guy who sold Abdul the suit she allegedly bought for Clark and all the other witnesses in two weeks. Heck, you can develop a TV series based on this scandal in less time than it is taking to investigate it. Being thorough is one thing; foot-dragging and playing for time is another.

Meanwhile, instead of doing the right thing and taking Abdul off the show until the extent of the scandal is known, Fox enhanced her profile by giving her a role on its summer series "So You Think You Can Dance," which is the perfect description of Fox's reaction to the Abdul-"Idol" affair.

Liguori also told critics that if the investigation is not completed by the next round of "American Idol" talent searches, set to begin this month, Abdul will be right back in the judge's chair.

"We're in the television business," he said. "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."

Nothing but common sense, that is. And, anyway, who's talking about holding Fox or Abdul to a standard "higher than the judicial system?"

All we're saying is that there is substantial evidence that Abdul and Fox breached the public trust and that her conduct undermined the supposed fairness of this contest. No one expects incarceration or even a Janet Jackson-sized fine, though this is far more flagrant and troublesome than Jackson's breast-baring wardrobe malfunction during last year's Super Bowl telecast.

But it shouldn't be too much to ask that Fox come clean about the Abdul situation, act openly and clear up any lingering cynicism viewers might have about the veracity of the competition -- if only for the sake of protecting its most important program franchise.

- REUTERS