Friday, July 30, 2010

Kara Dioguardi Ousted from American Idol

Oh, how I've waited to hear this news.  Kara Dioguardi, who single-handedly insulted an entire species of cat with her antics, will not be returning to wreak havoc on another group of performers who are naive enough to think they'll be judged on talent.  Fired, canned, given the old heave-ho, given her walking papers, axed, however you put it, she's gone. Her soapbox for self-promotion has mercifully come to an end -- and American Idol fans rejoice.

Some will say, shouldn't you thank Kara? Without her fighting for Casey James, he never would have moved on from Denver to the international spotlight he currently occupies.  Not necessarily.  She could have accomplished the same thing without lasciviously ogling him, without objectifying him, and without creating a season-long narrative that was all about her.  She could have stood up to Simon's dismissive comment that it "doesn't matter" that Casey is a good singer.  Instead, she turned it from audition to casting couch.

Let's bookend Kara's treatment of Casey -- from the hungry looks and flustered response in Denver and in Hollywood to her glee in dissecting his choice of Mrs. Robinson.  She insulted his talent, his drive, his long years of hard work and instead tried to turn him into her personal plaything.  No man could have behaved that way toward a female contestant and it was offensive that she was not only allowed to do it, but her "crush" became a significant story line for the entire season.  The fact that we're still talking and writing about Kara's behavior around Casey shows just how much she took the focus away from him and put it on herself.

So, no, I won't be thanking Kara anytime soon.  Do let the door hit you on the way out, Kara.  You won't be missed.

22 comments:

  1. Good riddance to Ms. Dioguardi. She WILL NOT be missed. Her behavior this past season was not only unacceptable, but unprofessional. I cringed every time she opened her mouth...especially when it concerned Casey James. It seemed to me like every week she would try to belittle him even more then the previous week. She disgusted me. I could go on one of my rants, but I'll bow out gracefully and say, "Bye, bye, Kara!" :)

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  2. i would love to know caseys feelings on this,we all know what his fans think but what does casey think?oh it wouldn't surprise me if we hear about a split from her and hubby as well......

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  3. Kara is gone? THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I think she totally turned people off with her ridiculous antics this season. She crossed way over the line with her actions and disrespectful critiques of the contestants. Can anyone say CASEY JAMES? I won't be shedding a single tear over her departure, that's for sure!

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  4. I would have forgiven the shirt thing - which was more Randy and as much Victoria as Kara (and Casye's forgiven, because he was a party to it) except that it didn't stop there. The eye-candy thing was used constantly from his first excellent performance of Heaven in the semis, and brought out by her or the others who jumped on the "cougar" wagon as a way to demean and undermine Casey's credibility on the show and got worse as he got closer to the end because he became a threat to a certain former paint salesman.

    More importantly, she was terribly self-centered, narcissistic, childish (as was Simon), and condescending throughout the season to more than just Casey. She tried to make it be all.about.her whenever she could. It's too bad because she occassional made some meaningful critiques and more than the other 3 judges this season. Her personality really undermined her credibility as a judge.

    I will not miss her.

    -MaryS

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  5. Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  6. This is great news! I might even consider watching AI this season. I wasn't going to watch if Kara was still there, and I know a whole lot of people who feel the same way! This made my day!

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  7. The witch (no offense to witches) is gone, time to start celebrating!!!!!!

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  8. So nice to hear some good news for a change! Good ridance!

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  9. WOW -- well you know what? Gee had it have been about the talent - their most certainly wouldn't have been such a huge shake up these past few days. Casey James was real, raw, talent -- we took him to where we wanted him - where it was a good place to be - Top 3!! Honestly I never saw anything like that judging panel last year. I was so over the fact that they never really critiqued him fairly on his singing. Still today, I see far too many comments about his looks on twitter, etc. Casey James wants to be known for his God given musical talent, not his hair. And man does he have talent! He wasn't on the Bachelor or next Top Model.

    American Idol you sow what you reap. Your going to need a lot of prayer.

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  10. i can't wait till the tour ends so casey can finally move forward with his career,we re all waiting for that cd to come out.i hope he gets a break to go home to relax a bit.and hang out with family.

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  11. Ding dong the witch is dead. The witch is dead, the mean ol witch. Bahahahaha.

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  12. I agree with Shari's comment that we need to bookend this thing. Kara's done. End of story. The more we relive the already hashed-out and regurgitated details of her -- yes unacceptable -- behavior toward Casey on the show, the more the story has legs and the more people want to ask all those annoying questions again. He'll continue to be gracious as he always has, but then they won't be asking about the music which is where the focus needs to be right now.

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  13. Anon 1:06. I agree. Close the book and burn it. I am through giving the chief cougar anymore of my anger. Casey is coasting along on the highroad, blowing people away with his talent. His fans have been vindicated. Kara is reaping what she sowed. And it's not all about Casey anyway. She was a sore spot in bad ratings year. All is as it should be. Let's hope they ask what Casey thinks of Steven Tyler as one of the new judges. He's the star. Kara is washed up and ovah.

    And Shari, I admire your writing so much. You just have an amazing way with words!

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  14. Casey wasn't the only contestant that Kara judged poorly. She simply wasn't a good judge. She also wanted to be the center of attention. I hope this is true. I hope this is true and we get confirmation soon.

    I've never heard a song that she has written that I cared for so maybe there's a market for them, but they seem to all be poorly written fluff to me. I don't know why she ever had a judge's seat.

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  15. I actually liked Kara the first year she was on. I thought she brought some fresh air and fresh opinions to the long-time threesome. And hey, she stood up for Casey in the first round (honestly, before I'd really taken a good look at him) so kudos to her for that.

    But her behavior after Hollywood week and thru the rest of the competition???? I got angrier and angrier. These contestants are not props for a TV show.. or they shouldn't be. These are people with dreams... and unlike most of us humans, they are willing to put themselves out there and take the crap to make the dream come true. All of them should be given kudos for that. Criticism? Yes. Correction? Yes. But what Kara did to Casey? Total crap. I'm still mad when I think about the "storyline" that was created that tried to pigeonhole this amazing talent into Kara's eye candy. Grrrr...

    So, I wish her all the luck in the world, but I wouldn't have watched the show this year if she still was on it. Wow. Maybe someone at FOX actually was listening to the outrage regarding her behavior towards Mr. James???

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  16. Anon 3:40, Thank you!!

    Anon, 4:05, I've been wondering that same thing!

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  17. Her comments on the show made it not about the music, but about something else (a school girl crush perhaps?). She gave herself too much credit for Casey moving on and into the top 3. The credit should in fact go to Casey directly. As they always say "the music speaks for itself."

    As an aside, for all the people she wrote for, until she was on AI I had never heard of her!

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  18. I think Kara was on a year to year contract and they didnt renew for the coming year because of the lower ratings this past year. Me, I'm perfectly happy never to mention her name again or the C word (Cougar) as of right now.

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  19. Shari, I enjoyed reading your final blog about Kara. It is a great feeling to close the book on this issue. It was the perfect ending to an annoying story.

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  20. @CJFan_Audrey (Twitter)July 31, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    Shari - that was so well said, and comedic too LOL!! I agree with everyone here. It was amusing initially, but the whole Kara-Casey thing dragged on during the season much too long to the point where it made everyone (but the judges) very uncomfortable. I know in my own family, my Mom, aunts and I would always talk about how the judges needed to stop about the whole thing. I do think the other judges really compounded the problem too.

    Aside from that, I found Kara had some insightful advice when she was serious, but could not stand her delivery and her over-use of the word 'commercial'. People who were watching couldn't care less about how 'commercial' a contestant was, they just wanted to hear good music and be entertained. Some thoughts she just should have kept to herself, obviously difficult for a big mouth like her.

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  21. Let's all take the "high road" - which is what Casey has done. Be thankful that Kara went to Casey's rescue and Posh too... and even though some bad things were said and done... We are so grateful that Casey was on the show... The world has seen him - will continue to see him and he WILL get a contract 'cause the BIG GUY above is ON his side... Casey will be a huge star and the little part these folks played is appreciated... We will all forget the "bad things" in the future... Be THANKFUL for all of it... that is Casey's motto and I agree....

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  22. @ kathyt1, well-stated! Luv ya, Casey, and have every intention of supporting you in your musical career!

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