Fox delves into claims by ex-'Idol' contestant

Fox delves into claims by ex-'Idol' contestant
"American Idol" producers said Thursday they were skeptical of Corey Clark's claims of favoritism and a sex affair with judge Paula Abdul, but were investigating the allegations nonetheless. "We are absolutely committed to the fairness of this competition," the show's producers said in a statement. "We take any accusations of this nature very seriously, no matter their source, and we have already begun looking into them."
Clark, who has a recording deal and is selling a book on his "Idol" experience, made his allegations in an interview Wednesday on ABC's "Primetime Live." He was a contestant in the 2003 edition of Fox's "American Idol," disqualified when producers learned he had been arrested in a domestic dispute and hadn't disclosed it.
Clark said that Abdul coached him on song selection, bought him stage clothes, paid for hair styling and eventually initiated a sexual affair while he was a contestant in Season Two's preliminary rounds.
Phone records, answering machine tapes, a bottle of prescription cough medicine in her name that he says she gave him and interviews with his parents bolstered Clark's claims on "Primetime Live."