‘American Idol’ contestant sues, says she was a ‘laughingstock’

An “American Idol” contestant is suing producers of the hit actuality present, alleging that she is a sufferer of wage theft and that the celeb judges turned her right into a “laughingstock” on nationwide tv.

Normandy Vamos, 30, appeared on the twentieth season of the ABC expertise present, which aired final 12 months, wowing Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan together with her vocal chops and advancing to Los Angeles for additional auditions.

However in the suit, filed Friday in California, Vamos says she ought to have been paid as an worker for the time she spent in Tinseltown.

“Actuality TV isn’t all the time actual. There’s so much that occurs behind the scenes,” the aspiring singer from Baltimore stated in a press release put out by Payton Employment Regulation. “Myself and a whole lot of individuals labored a few week with no pay.”

Vamos claimed she and different contestants had been required to stay in a Hollywood resort on standby for 15 hours a day for eight consecutive days whereas ready for his or her auditions — and did so with none earnings.

Her lawsuit alleges that producers thus “engaged in unjust enrichment and unfair enterprise practices” and “violated California labor code underneath the Personal Attorneys Common Act.”

In response to Vamos, she and different contestants ought to have been paid wages and additional time and may have been reimbursed for enterprise bills.

The singer filed the swimsuit “on behalf of herself and all others equally located,” though no different contestants have publicly connected their names.

“American Idol’s producers appear to really feel they will break labor legal guidelines and exploit formidable younger performers just because they might be longing for a shot at changing into the subsequent Jennifer Hudson or Carrie Underwood,” Vamos’ legal professional Chantal Payton stated.

“Vamos and different performers who create content material for ‘American Idol’ have rights as staff, however the producers have chosen to disregard these rights,” the lawyer alleged. “They handled them as so-called volunteers, when in actuality they’re staff who needs to be paid.”

In the meantime, Vamos claimed she was intentionally designed to appear to be a “laughingstock” throughout her preliminary audition, the place she carried out Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.”

She stated explicit consideration was paid to “her carrot-shaped purse,” “bunny-shaped” Crocs and “high-pitched talking voice,” which she believes had been supposed to create a comic book scene.

Vamos alleges that producers “instructed her in the way to seem and sound, creating an audition that grabbed headlines and went viral on-line.”

“The contract between her high-pitched talking voice and her lower-pitched singing, offered loads of materials for the judges to choose aside,” the press launch reads.

Vamos has not disclosed the precise sum of cash she is looking for in compensatory damages.