Idol crasher Ian Benardo files anti-gay discrimination claim against the show

A former American Idol rejectee who crashed a performance saying goodbye to Simon Cowell in last season's finale is now claiming the show discriminated against him.

Ian Benardo, who auditioned for Idol in 2007 -- you may (or may not) remember his version of Laura Branigan's "Gloria" -- has filed a complaint for workplace discrimination with New York's Division of Human Rights.

In a fax sent to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Benardo claims he was asked to appear on the Idol finale along with a few other memorable bootees as part of comedian Dane Cook's farewell to Cowell. He then grabbed the microphone from Cook, proclaiming a "Kanye moment" and rambling for a few seconds about how he was replacing Cowell before the show cut to commercial. (His audition video and effort on the finale are here.)

In the complaint, Benardo says the Idol powers that be "exploited my non-conforming appearance and sexual orientation. They did this by directing me to 'gay it up' in any appearance I made on camera," according to the Journal-Constitution. "... Although characterized as an 'audition' to the public at large, in fact, I was and was paid as an employee of respondents for each appearance."

The complaint also says other Idol employees used anti-gay slurs and that the show (he calls it "the workplace") "was permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, insults and hostile and offensive comments that were so severe as to alter my working conditions." He's asking for $300 million in damages.

An Idol rep says the show has no comment on the claim.

(Via Zap 2 It)

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