The verdict is in for a case from 11 former contestants on American Idol that alleged the show used race as a discriminating factor in the elimination of the plaintiffs, and it seems Fox is off the hook, based largely on statutes of limitations. As reported in a previous Music Times update on the case, the statute of limitations for the charges brought by the plaintiffs was four years, which leaves many of the former contestants, dating all the way back to Season 2 of the series, without grounds for a lawsuit. Judge Naomi Buchwald ruled that not enough evidence existed to overrule the statutes in place, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Apart from ignoring the clear law that knowledge of a discriminatory motive is irrelevant, plaintiffs have provided no explanation of how JXJ's disqualification made apparent discrimination that was otherwise obscure," she stated. "Rather, they simply state that JXJ's disqualification alone revealed an actionable disparity of treatment, ln a way that plaintiffs' alleged ten prior disqualifications did not. This conclusory assertion is not sufficient to toll the limitations period."
JXJ refers to Jermaine Jones, the original plaintiff who commissioned a study that claimed that concludes judges could not have randomly decided upon the elimination of each contestant, therefore suggesting that they were intentionally removed due to race. Even if that were true, Jones' study failed to prove that race was the ultimate factor. The suit also claimed that databases were used to dig up criminal activity committed by the contestants as a method for elimination. However one plaintiff who claimed that to be the case, Chris Golightly, was also previously involved with another professional recording act, which violated the contract he signed at the beginning of the show.
Some of those involved in the suit had questionable arguments of discrimination from the get-go: Corey Clark, the aforementioned Season 2 contestant, might struggle to claim racial discrimination when a different black man—Ruben Studdard—won the final round.
