american idol

American Idol Winner Phillip Phillips Wants Out of His ‘Oppressive’ Contract

HOLLYWOOD, FL - NOVEMBER 15: Phillip Phillips performs at Hard Rock Live! in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on November 15, 2014 in Hollywood, Florida. (Photo by Larry Marano/Getty Images)
Phillip Phillips. Photo: Larry Marano/2014 Larry Marano

No surprise that if you win American Idol, American Idol pretty much owns you. At least Idol creator Simon Fuller does, as his production company 19 Entertainment will take “as much as a 40 percent cut” from all of your future endorsements. Or so claims a complaint lodged by 11th-season Idol winner Phillip Phillips. The Hollywood Reporter reports the singer filed a petition with the California Labor Commissioner asserting that 19 Entertainment has “manipulated” him into taking jobs and performing for free. Phillips wants out of agreements that his lawyer describes as “oppressive” and “fatally conflicted.” Not only are they debasing poor Phillips by making him perform for Jet Blue and at other corporate events, he claims 19 Entertainment even “withheld” the title of his second studio album, Behind the Light. Harsh.

American Idol Winner Wants Out of His Contract