Nigel Lythgoe Says that Idol Can Change the "Bottom 3" if They Want

Posted by thefunnystone on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:52 PM
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Now that Nigel Lythgoe has been kicked to the curb by Idol, the former Executive Producer has no problem spilling secrets every now and then. And he just spilled one that definitely questions the show's legitimacy. Nigel tells the New York Post that Telescope, the company that coutns Idol votes, just lets the producers know the "bottom 3" but that they don't actually say who had the second or third lowest vote count. It's just a group thing along with who is going home. Nigel says that because of this, the producers can have a contestant declared safe first, but that they may not have had more votes than the two people standing in danger.

"...It doesn't mean the show won't take some liberty with the order that the other two low-vote receiving contestants are told to sit down, he says...

Since "Idol" never specifically states who the second- and third-lowest vote getters are, any conclusions that the audience draws from the order that they're sent to the safe stand is purely "up to the public at home."

We call bullshit. If Idol can easily manipulate the bottom 3 like that, there's no way the show doesn't manipulate everything else. So the Adam Lambert in the bottom 2 scenario was just to scare people into voting him for the win of course. Keep spilling those secrets, Nigel. We'll eventually prove that this show is a joke.

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Lambert FTW
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 1:35pm
Joined: 07 Feb 2009

sheesh.
i knew it was fake. with that many adam fantards out there, there's no way in hell he could have had the lowest.

"So the Adam Lambert in the bottom 2 scenario was just to scare people into voting him for the win of course."

simon cowell did something similar last year. remember when he endorsed david cook to win, but then during the finals, bashed him and said gaspy was better by a landslide? it was to get cook more votes. and simon has also made it clear that he wants adam to win this year, so he's obviously in on this too.

why can't this show be normal?

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-LambertFAIL

itchy
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 1:58pm
Joined: 15 Mar 2009

AI might be fake? Oh my. Who would have ever thought?

Why would they need to fake anything when they have such enormous talent like Deadwife Danny and Blind Scott and Moleheaded Matt?

It just doesn't make sense.

Next, you'll be telling us there's no Tooth Fairy.

Killjoy
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 2:01pm
Joined: 28 Oct 2008

Simply further proof that there's more going on than they make it seem. Makes it more legit coming from Nigel, though.

Even my friends that watch Idol agree with me when I go all conspiracy-theorist on them and start ranting about how they never show the numbers, and even if they did they have no proof that those are the true results. "Reality" television is never real, everything is scripted and overdramatic to produce ratings. As dreadfully entertaining as it can be sometimes, reality television is long past its prime. The day Idol dies will be a happy one indeed.

Is it just me, or are more and more complaints and questions coming out about Idol this season?

SlashDash
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 2:08pm
Joined: 19 Feb 2009

I still say there is logic behind Adam being in the bottom 3.

Just because *SOME* things on the show are fake, doesn't mean that *EVERYTHING* there is fake.

Then again, conspiracies are like the existing of God.

Can't proove or disproove anything.

oooh5615
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 2:10pm
Joined: 08 Apr 2009

Ok, TPTB never lie - they just take some liberty time to time. Now, I say this

"Nigel Lythgoe got a coat hanger up his ass."

Let's see if I lied in that sentence. Nigel got at least once coat hanger in his house, that's for sure. Also, Nigel surely got his ass. So I just took a liberty to add an innocent preposition...

Fallen Angel Gabriel
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 2:46pm
Joined: 12 Jun 2006

Anyone who thought Adam was actually in the bottom two is very naive... or just a complete dumbass.

catgirl99
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 2:52pm
Joined: 26 Mar 2009

If I'm reading the article correctly, the one who goes home is actually the one with the lowest # of votes? So it's between the 2nd and 3rd from the bottom, and they never say which is which, and when they send one of them back to the "safe" seats, they never say if that person is 2nd or 3rd from the bottom, so even if they give the impression that it's the 3rd from the bottom, it could be the 2nd from the bottom. They never overtly declare that the one going back to the "safe" seats is the 3rd from the bottom, so they probably figure they're being "honest" even if they give the opposite impression. It's very interesting...I guess the word is disingenuous...

person
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 3:16pm
Joined: 08 Mar 2009

I'm kinda confused, like catgirl above me ...

They can choose who leaves between the bottom 3?

Or the lowest number of votes ALWAYS goes home and the rest (2nd and 3rd) they can jumble about?

Analog_Kid
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 3:25pm
Joined: 16 Apr 2008

DWTS reveals who is safe and in danger "in no particular order." The 2 couples at the end of the results show are not necessarily the bottom 2. Why can't Idol simply make that clear to the viewers since they apparently do the same thing? I think this is the tip of the iceberg of their game-playing.

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Like a forest bows to winter... Beneath the deep white silence... I will quietly resist
Like a flower in the desert... That only blooms at night... I will quietly resist - Rush

fallacy
Posted: May 2, 2009 - 4:09pm
Joined: 02 Apr 2009

As if the manipulation this week wasn't already obvious with the first-ever Top 5 bottom three.

I really don't see why they have to go about changing everything this season. The top 13, the save, the fourth judge, and now this. None of the things they're adding are making the show any better, and in a lot of cases they're making it worse. And more and more info keeps coming out about the lies behind AI... even without the rumors of the judges leaving, it would still look like the show as we know it is coming to a close.