WorldNetDaily reports that Antonella Barba's antics at the National WWII Veterans Memorial (NSFW images here) won't get her booted off the show by Fox, despite the fact that many members of the public are none too pleased with her. They sample a few opinions from around the internet, including the following:

"The photos of this young woman Antonella Barba on American Idol taken at the WWII Memorial are disrespectful and she should not be allowed to continue on the show. By allowing her to stay, Fox and "American Idol" are saying it is OK for her and other "Idol" contestants to break laws at war memorials, trample all over them and pose half nude in the waters of them. ... Fox and "Idol" would be saying, 'Hey, next year go take off half your clothes, jump in the waters in Pearl Harbor at the USS Arizona Memorial in Oahu, Hawaii, and pose like Anotnella Barba did.'"

"What nobody seems to understand is that some of the photos, which are clearly of her were taken in a public place and she intentionally posed for them. It's not like she was unwittingly photographed while getting undressed in her own bedroom. She invaded her own privacy by allowing these photos to be taken of her. Public nudity is illegal, plus, she desecrated a veteran's memorial. For that, she should have been arrested. But for publicly exploiting herself, she should be removed from the show. She is not a role model for young women to follow."

A few more opinions from here and there:

Fracas opines:

I don’t really care if the “really bad” ones are or if they aren’t Antonella, since my opinions were based on the photos that really are Antonella. . . . The offense of the type of photos taken at the [World] War II Memorial are enough for me, and I’m not even an American! For the insult to America that those photos represent, she should be asked to remove herself from the competition or be told to leave.

A blogger named Erin had this to say:

I'm sure that the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces and the half a million Americans who lost their lives for our country in WWII are extremely honored to be part of the backdrop for some no-talent skank whore's half-assed attempt at compensating for the fact that she has no musical talent by getting her t-shirt wet.

American Idolater sez:

...if Antonella — the same girl who posed half-naked in a wet shirt out in public at the World War II memorial — is the least slutty person you know, then you might want to try to find some new people to hang out with. Seriously, what kind of people are Amanda’s other friends? How sad is that?

Smurf at Eluid.org:

I'm not sure where I was when they redefined the word slutty to not include girls that take photos of themselves on the toilet or half-naked in front of a war memorial. I would appreciate it if Merriam-Webster contacted me next time they plan on changing the definition of a word I use so frequently.

Eric at TheFingerman notes that the story's gotten some MSM attention:

Anyway, the Fox affiliate in D.C. had a hilarious story Monday night in which they went down to the World War II Memorial, showed visitors the Antonella photos and asked them what they thought. Of course, everyone was horrified and thought the pictures were disrespectful. (Of course, with TV news you never know--they could have interviewed ten other people who said the pictures were hot but they didn't play that tape.)

Zenblogger doubts the "oral" scandal will get Antonella kicked off, but isn't so sure about the memorial pictures:

Antonella will likely not be kicked off the show, as it’s nearly impossible to prove that she was in fact, the female on the receiving end of those oral sex pictures, especially when her friends are coming out and stating that she was not. The only other factor that could see her ejected [] is America’s tolerence to her disrespect of it’s fallen and her desecration of a hallow[ed] war memorial.

Cried as I found my grandfather's name at the new WWII memorial.

The Japanese not only robbed my grandfather of his life, they robbed my mother and myself the chance to ever get to know him.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. I am someone who has little problem blaspheming that which is held as sacred, but which isn't. But if there is such a thing as a place that is sacred, then the WWII Memorial surely is one of those places. The blood of my grandfather, if it is worth anything, has made it so.

Posted by: Ragnar at 01:40 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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