The Irony of American Idolatry

A former contestant on American Idol, Paula Godspeed, commtted suicide near the home of Paula Abdul. According to Abdul, Godspeed had been stalking her for the past 18 years, a fact that encouraged the producers to allow her on the show. If she had been stalking Paula Abdul for 18 years, obviously something wasn't right. But, what the hell were the producers of the show thinking? Well, Abdul said, in an interview on Monday, that Godspeed was brought on the show "for entertainment value," despite her attempts to dissuade the producers. Ostensibly Godspeed auditioned for the show to become one of "Aerica's idols," but it was she who was enraptured in the grip of idolizing someone else. So, this is what "entertainment value" has come to: watching someone strive for stardom and obsess, to the point of suicide, over someone who has it. Hopefully the producers will begin to re-think their show and motives.