Does Idol exploit the mentally ill?
A psychiatrist brands Idol's auditions abusive. But there are ways to conduct a responsible audition without needing a complete medical history.
- Published by David Knox
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Australian Idol has today been accused of exploiting mentally ill young people with one psychiatrist saying that over the years she had seen several of her patients being bullied and degraded on the show.
While it’s true one judge in particular was mean at auditions (and we all know who) it does seem a little belated to be raising the matter. Might this not have been more productive before the auditions came around again?
In fact there are plenty of mentally healthy auditionees on the show who are degraded too. But that’s Idol. And it’s now seven years on. If you go on the show it’s reasonable to assume that you now know what the gig is, or do some research before putting your hand up.
Melanie Evans, a consultant psychiatrist with Orygen Youth Health, told The Age, ‘They are taking extremely vulnerable people who have mental health problems and just ridiculing them … rather than screening them out, it appears they are actually screening them in, in order to abuse them.”
But how does this differ from Australia’s Got Talent, Make Me a Supermodel, or worse, the demeaning comments dished out to those in Australia’s Next Top Model? For that matter does it differ from Bernard King on Pot of Gold in the 1970s or Red Faces which is currently auditioning for acts that will be less than glowing too?
It’s true that Idol producers pre-screen the contestants who will go before their judges.
The best and the worst make the cut. The dull in-betweeners are summarily dismissed. It’s also fair to presume that an untalented contestant who has no true perception of their performance could presume that graduating to the judge’s room (at a later date) is because they have talent. That’s doubly crushing when you’re then effectively laughed out of the room.
But this gets back to a general duty of care, not a need for producers to be up to speed on somebody’s medical history. In any case, these things should usually be alerted in an Application Form.
Stephen Tate from TEN said on-call psychological counselling was provided once at the competition stage. He welcomed contestants advising if they had an illness, saying the network would not like to discriminate against mentally ill people.
”It is for us to judge their talent, not how they have been brought up, any personal issues they are overcoming or to comment on their family life,” he said.
Idol would certainly do well to shift away from car-crash auditions. So You Think You Can Dance Australia, also a FremantleMedia production, has now produced two seasons without the need for malice. The way the ratings have been this year, Idol might consider dumping the audition run up anyway and avoid the matter entirely.
If anything Idol was grossly unfair this year by calling for video auditions and only playing the dodgy ones with insulting editorial punchlines.
It could also consider raising the minimum age to 18 years, even though it would have precluded several contestants in this year’s Top 12.
Source: The Age
18 Responses
Some of the family members are as deluded as the auditionees about their talent.
I don’t think poor self awareness entitles a TV show free reign to humiliate people.
so now we defer our personal responsibity to TV shows do we? The show has been on for 7 years, millions know how it works and what takes place in the auditions. Do these people not have any friends, family etc to tell them what they face if they can’t recognise it on their own? Am sick of everyone blaming others for their life and media taking the “moral” highground about duty of care and exploitation, hunting down “experts” for a quote or soundbite to suit. The media who will do anything for a couple more mouse clicks or papers sold… Give us a break.
comon everybody…stop lying to yourselfs….its funny and good entertainment….they no there different and should be told there opening thereselfs up to mocking…
Obviously they do exploit them, surprising it’s taken so long for anyone to have a problem with this.
Mediocre singers never audition in front of the judges. Only talented singers and people set up for ridicule make it to second audition.
I loved the balanced discussion about the subject on 7PM Project, Andrew G dismissing the claims and nobody to challenge his position.
No.
Its not just asbeugers but scitsophrenia, depression, anxiety, interlectual disabilities etc. I dont beleiev its the intention of the show to seak these people out but there isnt necesarily a good policy or duty od care.
BBBA yes some suffer from aspergers whilst others have got there asperations confused
I know for a fact they have done this to a friend of mine. I am not sure they are completely honest in the process and can mislead people into thinking they are going to get through only to be insulted by the judges and told to go home.
She’s right. I’d honestly say that about half of the of the exceptionally bad auditions appear to have Aspergers Syndrome.
There appear to be two main issues. Firstly there is the ‘bigger picture’ issue that humiliating and bullying behaviour is modelled and condoned by celebrities as TV entertainment (and not just on Idol ) … do we want this in our society given the impact such as the Geelong suicides in which one of the main factors was attributed to cyber-bullying (cyber-bullying also continues after Idol on Youtube). Secondly is the issue of vulnerable people (such as those who are experiencing or recovered from mental health problems) appearing on such shows not to be showcased for their talent but to be publicly humiliated. Of course people with mental health issues have the right to ‘have a go’ at these shows and they shouldn’t have to disclose any previous mental health problems but being humiliated on prime time national TV is not acceptable.
With the success of SYTYCD and MasterChef, both with affirming and positive modus operandi, I agree that Idol needs an update. “Car Crash TV” is becoming increasingly juvenile (as evidence with Big Bother errr Brother, going stale) and they need a fresh approach. Also, the minimum age of 18 should be introduced. Younger ones are not mentally prepared to face the rigours and challenges of the show let alone the post-show events (and god help them if they win it). That said, it is now a known format – contestants should know the genre and its implications by now. “buyer beware!!
I think you will find contestants would sign waivers to absolve the show from being sued. If people with zero talent get to see judges they would start to think they have talent. It is cruel and unecessary
This kind of thing happens on the Footy Show. Sam Newman would talk to lots of people. However, it is always these off beat people that make it on tv. He also tends to frequent areas where he will get these kinds of people
After all these years, you think people don’t know what they’re getting themselves into auditioning for these shows?
Yes, Idol does exploit the mantally ill, about a million of them a week, PMLOL !
what about the contestants on idol are they not contributing to viewers mental health
Are you referring to Dicko in the first two series’ when he was a real Pr**k?
Only for it’s judges 😉
If Australian Idol is anything like its Pop Idol sibling, then yes it probaly does exploit the mentally ill, you just have to look at Susan Boyle of Got Talent fame to see how it can all go so very very wrong