Former Contestant on American Idol Filed a Lawsuit Against the Show Producers

A former American Idol participant is suing the show's producers for pay theft and claiming that the show's famous judges made her into a "laughing stock" on national television. The 30-year-old singer Normandy Vamos auditioned for the ABC talent show's 20th season last year, and her performance impressed judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. However, Vamos claims in her lawsuit that she should have been compensated as an employee throughout her time in Tinseltown. 

Payton Employment Law issued a news release quoting the wannabe vocalist from Baltimore. Vamos said, "Reality TV isn’t always real. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes, Myself and hundreds of people worked about a week with no pay." She further added that without compensation, she and the other candidates were made to wait in a Hollywood hotel for 15 hours each day for eight days to be considered for the auditions.

So, according to her complaint, producers "engaged in unjust enrichment and unfair business practices" and "violated California labor code under the Private Attorneys General Act." Vamos claims that she and the other participants were owed salary, overtime, and reimbursement of business costs. The singer said she was filing "on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated," but no other competitors have come forward to publicly support her claim, as reported by The Thing.

Vamos' lawyer, Chantal Payton said, "American Idol’s producers seem to feel they can break labor laws and exploit ambitious young performers simply because they may be eager for a shot at becoming the next Jennifer Hudson or Carrie Underwood. Vamos and other performers who create content for ‘American Idol’ have rights as employees, but the producers have chosen to ignore those rights. They treated them as so-called volunteers when in reality they are employees who should be paid."

Vamos, however, said that she was made to appear like a "laughingstock" at her original audition, in which she sang 'Proud Mary' by Tina Turner. The singer showed up for her interview dressed in all pink and carrying a purse shaped like a carrot. The judges' laughter was prompted by her clothing. According to the New York Post, Katy fled the stage laughing hysterically after announcing that she would be performing 'Proud Mary' for her audition.

Vamos had recently criticized the American Idol panel for their treatment of her during her audition. "The contract between her high-pitched speaking voice and her lower-pitched singing provided plenty of material for the judges to pick apart," Vamos' lawyer said in a news statement.

This isn't the first time a contestant complained about the judges on American Idol. Katy received criticism earlier as well when she called Sara Beth Liebe's mother a "babysitter" during Liebe's American Idol audition. Soon after, the contender decided to no longer continue competing. Liebe discussed the impact of Perry's remarks on her in a TikTok video. She said, "At the start of my audition — before I sang — I mentioned that I had three children and was a young mother, and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn't super kind. It was embarrassing to have that on TV and it was hurtful and, you know, that’s that. I did want to take this opportunity to say that I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool, and I think that mom-shaming is super lame."

References:

https://www.thethings.com/normandy-vamos-sued-american-idol-for-breaking-labor-laws-behind-the-scenes/

https://nypost.com/2023/02/08/american-idol-contestant-sues-says-she-was-a-laughing-stock/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qSs8ik4v3DfwbRuC_HOgCOzZZ1NDQCSD82tDiujukt0/edit

https://www.tiktok.com/@sarabethliebe/video/7208326246369873198