Transgender Contestant Accuses ‘American Idol’ of Exploitation, Bandwagon-Hopping

Transgender indie-rock singer and activist Ryan Cassata has put American Idol on blast in frank and lengthy Facebook and YouTube rants, accusing the show’s producers of attempting to exploit him in order to capitalize on the current media frenzy surrounding Caitlin Jenner.

“LAST YEAR I was interested [in competing on Idol], and I tried out but you DIDN’T WANT ME, I wasn’t 'contemporary enough,’ and being transgender wasn’t such a hot issue in the media like it is now,” 21-year-old Cassata posted on his Facebook page this week. “This year, I see what American Idol is all about, another pre-casted show, that’s looking for 'singers’ to boost their ratings, and now they just need that TOKEN TRANS person for America to gossip about, to hype up the show.

"This year you picked me because you WANT SOMEONE THAT’S TRANSGENDER and you don’t want someone 'that people might make fun of, or [someone] who looks too much like they are men who transitioned to women, or [that] look FAKE or GIMMICKY.’ You said you don’t want a transgender person 'WHO STICKS OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB.’ You also referred to trans people as 'MEN IN DRESSES’ and 'TRANSGENDERS.’ That is very ignorant, and transphobic.”

Cassata also claimed Idol producers were looking for other “pre-casted” and “sexist and racist” TV stereotypes, like “sexual blonde girls who are dumb” and “black girls who are dramatic.”

Cassata concluded with: “I realized that YOU ONLY WANT ME BECAUSE I’M A ‪#‎TRANSGENDER PERSON who happens to be a singer, not because I’M A SINGER WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE TRANSGENDER, and because of that I’m not interested… American Idol isn’t punk rock, punk rock is about being honest, and American Idol isn’t honest. It’s mostly pre-casted, and deep down, it probably isn’t even about singing anymore. I reject your invitation to SELL OUT. After all, I’m a ‪#‎SINGER, who just happens to be transgender.”

Cassata, who has 23,000 subscribers on YouTube and performed on the Warped Tour this year, further explained to Billboard that he was invited to try out for Idol by producers last October. (“I never reached out to them. Never in my life would I have been like, ‘I’m going to try out for American Idol,’“ he said.) He claimed he was allowed to bypass the first three stages of auditions, and although he was rejected after that process, he later received multiple phone calls from producers, "begging” him to re-audition. He refused.

“I was contacted again in June after Caitlyn Jenner was in the media, and the first thing they said to me is, ‘We want a transgender person on this show,’” he told Billboard. “They don’t want a singer and transgender; they want someone that’s transgender and a singer, and that’s not the right reason to go on the show. So now I’m ‘contemporary enough’ because being trans is such a hot-button issue in the media right now.”

American Idol’s producers have responded to Cassata’s accusations with the following statement: “American Idol searches far and wide to ensure that talent in any part of the country has a chance to audition. There are various ways for individuals to audition including our open calls, posting their auditions online, our East and West Coast bus tours, through partner apps, etc. Our audition team has often reached out to former participants to audition again. Many find that their voice improves over a year and they have greater success in their second or third attempt. American Idol is about finding great talent and the show welcomes diversity in its participants. We will look into the veracity of the statements in Ryan Cassata’s open letter.”

In related news, a former American Idol top 40 Vegas Rounds semifinalist, who back in Season 12 identified as a gay male singer named Josh “JDA” Davila, has since come out as a transgender woman, going by the name Jaidah Christina. Christina told The Advocate earlier this year that she was not entirely happy with how she was portrayed on Idol in 2013. “I wish they allowed America to really, really like me. I could’ve blown up, could’ve become something… They showed this gay boy. I was willing to give them diversity, show some light… I wish I could go back and do it all over again, be more classy, more sophisticated. But at the end of the day, I know you have to find people who appreciate you for who you are.“

The final season of American Idol premieres on Fox in January 2016.

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