Sexy pix don't doom 'American Idol' vixen

Antonella Barba competes on Fox TV's 'American Idol'

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A contestant on Fox TV's "American Idol" will not be disqualified despite the emergence of racy photos, including one of her reportedly frolicking semi-nude at a World War II memorial.

Controversy has been brewing in the past week over the case of Antonella Barba, 20, of Point Pleasant, N.J., who has advanced to Round Three of the nation's most popular television program for her singing ability. But the anonymous release of numerous photos, some said to be of a graphic sexual nature, have put the young woman in a more focused spotlight.

Nigel Lythgoe, producer of "American Idol," told the celebrity TV show "Extra" he would not be kicking off Barba, but her fate would be in the voters' hands. Viewers of "Idol" cast ballots by telephone for contestants they wish to advance at the end of each show.

"Without question, any competition like this is part popularity contest," Lythgoe said.

There is precedent for booting a contestant off the program. In 2003, Frenchie Davis was ousted after producers learned she had previously posed for topless pictures on an adult website.

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Meanwhile, Barba's best friend, Amanda Coluccio of Holmdel, N.J., with whom Barba competed before being eliminated, says the less graphic photos are indeed of Barba, but denied she is pictured in the pornographic ones.

"The really bad ones aren't her. I've studied them," Coluccio told the Newark Star-Ledger. "It's not her nose. She's never had (acrylic nail) tips (like the woman in the photo) in her life. She's the least slutty person I know."

Photo of 'American Idol' contestant Antonella Barba reportedly in World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., has angered some viewers of the popular TV program (Image has been altered to meet WND standards)

Messageboards across the Internet have been busy with comments from viewers of the show, which many feel is family-friendly fare.

• The photos of this young woman Antonella Barba on American Idol taken at the WWII Memorial are disrespectful and she should not be allowed to continue on the show. By allowing her to stay, Fox and "American Idol" are saying it is OK for her and other "Idol" contestants to break laws at war memorials, trample all over them and pose half nude in the waters of them. ... Fox and "Idol" would be saying, "Hey, next year go take off half your clothes, jump in the waters in Pearl Harbor at the USS Arizona Memorial in Oahu, Hawaii, and pose like Antonella Barba did."

• What nobody seems to understand is that some of the photos, which are clearly of her were taken in a public place and she intentionally posed for them. It's not like she was unwittingly photographed while getting undressed in her own bedroom. She invaded her own privacy by allowing these photos to be taken of her. Public nudity is illegal, plus, she desecrated a veteran's memorial. For that, she should have been arrested. But for publicly exploiting herself, she should be removed from the show. She is not a role model for young women to follow.

• People out there have been damaging people's lives by putting up fake pictures and stories about them. People without lives are just doing it. It's weird and crazy. Technology these days could harm or help us, and it appears to be harming us. People are using it for the bad. I think Antonella should definitely stay and it will not affect her chances because it's true, this is a singing contest.

• I personally have not looked at the photos, and think that it is no one's business to look at them. It is a shame that the media is supporting the sick person [who released the photos] by exposing them for the world to see. Obviously, people are jealous of her if someone would do something so cruel. How horrible. Whether they are really her or not, it is her business.