David Hernandez Adds Icing to the American Idol Scandal Cake

Ryan Seacrest once again proclaims that this year's Top 24 American Idol contestants may be the most talented the show has ever had. Are they talented? Sure...but this year's Top 24 may end up being the most scandalous out of the gate. American Idol has become more famous for the scandalous contestants rather than the actual talent, anyway.

David Hernandez is the subject of the latest and, by far, juiciest gossip for those bored with stories of DUIs and nude photos. Rumors going around that David Hernandez was a gay stripper sounded too ludicrous to be true, but then the photos surfaced... Hernandez with drag queens, Hernandez posing in a shirt where the name of the nightclub, Burn, is scrawled on the chest, and Hernandez, shirtless, posing with other dancers.

E! news reports that Hernandez's former manager, Gordy Bryan, said Hernandez worked for him for three years at his club, catering to a mostly gay male clientele, only leaving to appear on American Idol.

"He had the look and the type that people like, so he made pretty good money here," Bryan confirmed. Bryan also said that Hernandez's job was to give lap dances and perform fully nude.

Does this mean Hernandez will be dismissed? Possibly. Former contestant, Frenchie Davis, was dismissed after it was made public that she had photos posted on a pornographic website. However, it seems like standards must be relaxing. Antonella Barba from season six faced no repercussions from her extremely pornographic photos that made the rounds on the internet last year. Maybe Hernandez will be safe, after all.

Should Hernandez lose his opportunity to compete? That will all become clear due to how the public votes in the future as to how they feel about his shady past. Even if the public is willing to forgive his recent past, how popular can a possibly gay/bisexual heartthrob be with female voters? Some may overlook his sexuality for his talent and some may feel cheated or embarassed. Hernandez had better hope the gay male population rallies behind him if his female fanbase drops him...and that is if American Idol doesn't see fit to categorize him with the same offenses of Frenchie Davis.

American Idol, on the other hand, benefits from these scandals. They could insist on seeing police reports and require background checks including places of employment if they really wanted to avoid this type of scandal...but they don't. It seems they enjoy the publicity for the ratings and maybe the scandals are the only thing now propelling what has become a very tired premise. This can only be assumed because of the overwhelming silence on the part of the show in regards to addressing any of the scandals, many backed by irrefutable evidence.

This batch of newest contestants aren't exactly angels. The American Idol judges seem very adept at not only sniffing out great voices, but great baggage, criminal histories, and skeletons in the closet just begging to be exposed.

The biggest scandal this year before the Hernandez caper was about Carly Smithson. Smithson was once a recording artist with a contract who flopped. Her name back then was Carly Hennessy. This threw a brick through the glass for those who wanted American Idol to be the show where the local girl or boy-next-door got big breaks in Hollywood. America wanted to see a virtual unknown come from nowhere and become the next recording star.

Eliminated Idol, Robbie Carrico, was also the subject of controversy. He was a former member of a boy band that opened for Britney Spears and was even rumored to have had a relationship with the pop diva after they attended a premiere together. That wasn't what angered fans...apparently, fans were angered about his hair, claiming he was wearing a wig and wasn't really a rocker.

These scandals are only minor compared to the tawdry and criminal pasts of other contestants. Amanda Overmyer was recently in the news after her past DUI was unearthed. Rumors are also swirling that nude pictures of the skunk-streaked rocker chick are out there, though suspiciously the gossip sites haven't found them yet.

Ramiele Malubay has been making the news for her MySpace photos which feature friends grabbing her (clothed) breasts and her doing the same thing to her friends. It all appears to be goofy fun that someone should not have had the camera out for, but still parents of young American Idol fans were not pleased.

Danny Noriega has a lovely Christmas message on YouTube in which he spews profanity while wearing more eyeliner than The Cure in their glory years. His words on the video make him the antithesis of an "American Idol".

And those are just contestants for this season.

Several sites, such as CourtTV and AOL have put together photo galleries of the Idol hopefuls that landed in trouble with the law or entrenched in controversy.

Jessica Sierra, from a past season, tops their lists. Sierra is now infamous for her drug use and time spent in jail for disorderly intoxication. While in jail, it was announced she was pregnant and later announced that she was no longer pregnant. No sources can confirm what happened.

Other offenders: Bucky Covington (switched places with his twin to avoid criminal prosecution), the Brittnem twins (yes, both...In hot water for forgery, theft, and identity fraud), Bo Bice (cocaine and marijuana possession), Corey Clark (charged with misdemeanor batter, resisting arrest, and also claimed he had an affair with Paula Abdul), Scott Savol (domestic dispute), Mario Vasquez (sexually harassed an American Idol production company staffer), Trencye [Lashundra Cobbins] (just got out of time behind bars for shoplifting by attending diversion program in 1999), Jaered Andrews (accidentally killed a man in a bar brawl), Donnie Williams (drunken driving), Julia DeMato (drug possession/drunken driving), Kimberly Caldwell (drunken driving), Leroy Wells (2^nd degree assault in a convenience store shooting).