Music

American Idol's audition contract says they can fictionalize your backstory

by Tyler Munro

Redditor IfGirWasAGinger was ready to try out for American Idol. Then she read the audition contract.

To anyone who’s ever watched the show, this should shed light on its insistence on using sob stories to brand-build potential stars. Yes, the phrasing is standard fare, an easy way of saying “you can’t sue us no matter what,” but it’s also an open invitation for producers to tell the stories they want. It’s not so much that they’ll be able to fabricate your origins as they’ll be able to edit them to their liking, but in some respects that might be worse.

Still, the funniest bit of this comes at the end of the underlined portion: apparently, signing off on this allows the show’s producers to own their portrayal of you throughout the universe in perpetuity (see: FOREVER). Check out the sneaky clause below.