‘American Idol’ auditions deliberately hurtful

The premiere of season five of ‘American Idol’ proved one thing: Fox continues to raise the bar for insipid programming. The program featured Idol hopefuls as they auditioned in Chicago. The tedious two hour show should be considered by the U.S. military for use in torturing suspected terrorists; it’s that friggin’ awful.

During the show’s opening Idol host Ryan Suckcrest proclaimed that Idol has become “an integral part of American culture,” and “a part of growing up.” Well f me sideways!

The Idol audition premise is simple: Show as many hopeful contestants who don’t really have a chance at becoming the next Idol and then belittle, degrade and embarrass them on camera. The manipulation of contestants’ feelings is wholly mean spirited and the intent to capture “real life” angst makes for lame TV.

The show hit an all-time new low during the audition of Charles Berry, from nearby Darby, Pennsylvania. Admittedly Mr. Berry’s audition illustrated that he is cut out for a career other than singing, as are many Idol hopefuls.

Instead of making a snarky comment about Mr. Berry’s singing, Simon Cowell used the opportunity to make deliberately derogatory statements regarding Mr. Berry’s sexuality, including advising him to become a transvestite. And to what end?

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